Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes on God
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 god, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
-
“Self-reliance, the height and perfection of man, is reliance on God.”
The Fugitive Slave Law , a lecture in NYC (March 7, 1854) -
“Character is higher than intellect...A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think.”
The American Scholar(1837) | par. 27 -
“Life is too short to waste The critic bite or cynic bark, Quarrel, or reprimand; 'Twill soon be dark; Up! mind thine own aim, and God speed the mark!”
Poems(1847) | To J. W. , st. 4 -
“It costs a beautiful person no exertion to paint her image on our eyes; yet how splendid is that benefit! It costs no more for a wise soul to convey his quality to other men.”
Representative Men(1850) | Uses of Great Men -
“It is time to be old, To take in sail: — The god of bounds, Who sets to seas a shore, Came to me in his fatal rounds, And said: 'No more!”
May-Day and Other Pieces(1867) | Terminus -
“God may forgive sins, he said, but awkwardness has no forgiveness in heaven or earth.”
Society and Solitude(1870) | Society and Solitude -
“Natural religion supplies still all the facts which are disguised under the dogma of popular creeds. The progress of religion is steadily to its identity with morals.”
Pearls of Thought(1881) | p. 223