Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes

Quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson

1. Language learning

   “Language is fossil poetry.”

   – Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Poet", Essays: Second Series (1844)

   Meaning: Many ordinary words began as fresh, poetic images. Over time we stopped noticing the pictures inside them, like living things turned to stone.

   fossil

   – the remains of an ancient plant or animal preserved in rock

2. Friendship

   “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”

   – Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Friendship", Essays (1841)

   Meaning: If you want good friends, start by being a good friend yourself: kind, loyal and there for people.

3. Friendship

   “A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.”

   – Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Friendship", Essays (1841)

   Meaning: A true friend is one of the finest things the world can produce.

   reckoned

   – considered; thought of as

   masterpiece

   – the best piece of work someone has made