It is easy to see that a greater self-reliance must work a revolution in all the offices and relations of men; in their religion; in their education; in their pursuits; their modes of living; their association; in their property; in their speculative views.
Interpretation
Greater self-reliance leads to transformative changes in all aspects of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote emphasizes the importance of self-reliance as a foundational principle that can bring about significant change in various spheres of human activity. By advocating for individuals to depend on themselves, Emerson suggests that this trait can revolutionize personal relationships, educational systems, religious beliefs, and societal structures, promoting a more independent and fulfilling way of living.
In practice
A motivational speaker might use this quote during a seminar about personal growth.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
Remember and understand well that where Peter is, there is the Church; that those who refuse to associate in communion with the Chair of Peter belong to Antichrist, not to Christ. He who would separate himself from the Roman Pontiff has no further bond with Christ.
It's a true image, born of a false spectacle.
All bodies are slow in growth but rapid in decay.
So as through a glass and darkly_x000D_ The age long strife I see_x000D_ Where I fought in many guises,_x000D_ Many names - but always me.
I've always felt outside of things; I've always felt different.
I believe that in time we will have reached the point where we will deserve to be free of government.
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