Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Courage is not a tangible essence but is found in fulfilling one's true nature.
Ralph Waldo Emerson suggests that courage is not an inherent quality hidden within us, but rather the natural expression of our true selves when we are free to act according to our principles and nature. It emphasizes that authentic courage arises from living genuinely and in alignment with one’s convictions, rather than from a separate source or characteristic.
Themes
CourageFreedomAuthenticityNatureVirtue
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a motivational speech to inspire people to embrace their true selves.
More from Ralph Waldo Emerson
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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.
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The world belongs to the energetic.
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Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
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Enthusiasm is the engine of success.
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