Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes on Freedom
Ralph Waldo Emerson was a 19th-century American essayist, lecturer, and poet, the leading figure of the Transcendentalist movement in New England. This page collects quotes attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson on the topic of freedom, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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Attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”
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Attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.”
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“The Fugitive Slave Law , a lecture in NYC (March 7, 1854)”
Self-reliance, the height and perfection of man, is reliance on God. -
“The word liberty in the mouth of Mr. Webster sounds like the word love in the mouth of a courtesan.”
Journals (1822–1863) | February 12, 1851; cf. the remark of John Wilkes about Samuel Johnson , " Liberty is as ridiculous in his mouth as Religion in mine" (20 March 1778), quoted in Boswell 's Life of Johnson (1791) -
“I wish to write such rhymes as shall not suggest a restraint, but contrariwise the wildest freedom.”
Journals (1822–1863) | June 27, 1839