A great man stands on God. A small man on a great man.
Interpretation
True greatness is rooted in a higher purpose, while lesser individuals depend on those who are greater than themselves.
This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson suggests that true greatness comes from a strong foundation of faith and principles, represented by 'God', indicating that a truly great person is humble and recognizes a greater power. In contrast, those who merely stand upon the successes of others lack true depth and significance, as their greatness is derived from someone else's achievements.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to inspire leaders to seek deeper meaning in their actions.
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?
It is much easier to make good men wise, than to make bad men good.
I think it would be well, and proper, and obedient, and pure, to grasp your one necessity and not let it go, to dangle from it limp wherever it takes you.
Sometimes it's difficult to accept, to recognise one's own mistakes, but one must do it. I was guilty of overconfidence and arrogance, and I was punished for that.
We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights.
If I could I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results.
At the risk of appearing predictable, the Bible was and remains the biggest influence on my thinking. I was raised reading it, memorizing passages from it and being guided by it. I still find it a source of wisdom, comfort and encouragement.
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