--- title: "9 Emerson Quotes By Ralph Waldo Emerson" description: "9 Emerson quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Plus more from Ralph Waldo Emerson and more Emerson sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_the-landscape-belongs-to-the-person-who_1825043.png" --- > [The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it..." -Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-landscape-belongs-to-the-person-who-looks-at-it-ralph-waldo/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_the-landscape-belongs-to-the-person-who_1825043.png) > [“Your goodness must have some edge to it -- else it is none.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/your-goodness-must-have-some-edge-to-it-else-it-is-none/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_anderbo_your-goodness-must-have-some-edge-to-it_60086.png) > [“Go where there is no path and leave a trail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/go-where-there-is-no-path-and-leave-a-trail/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_go-where-there-is-no-path-and-leave-a-tr_2317183.png) > [Love what is simple and beautiful. These are the essentials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/love-what-is-simple-and-beautiful-these-are-the-essentials/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_authors_love-what-is-simple-and-beautiful-these_443649.png) > [The only way to have a friend is to be one. --Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-only-way-to-have-a-friend-is-to-be-one-ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_the-only-way-to-have-a-friend-is-to-be-o_902210.png) > [What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/what-lies-behind-us-and-what-lies-before-us-are-tiny-matters-compared-3/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_what-lies-behind-us-and-what-lies-before_2593317.png) > [“Some of your hurts you have cured, and the sharpest you've even survived. But what torments of grief you've endured from evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/some-of-your-hurts-you-have-cured-and-the-sharpest-you-ve-even/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_death_some-of-your-hurts-you-have-cured-and-th_2868395.png) > [Thought and knowledge are natures in which apparatus and pretension avail nothing. Gowns, and pecuniary foundations, though of towns of gold, can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/thought-and-knowledge-are-natures-in-which-apparatus-and-pretension/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_american-scholar_thought-and-knowledge-are-natures-in-whi_545149.png) > [“I appeal from your customs. I must be myself. I cannot break myself any longer for you, or you. If you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-appeal-from-your-customs-i-must-be-myself-i-cannot-break-myself-any/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_aversion_i-appeal-from-your-customs-i-must-be-mys_549378.jpg) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emerson/ralph-waldo-emerson/#itemlist", "name": "9 Emerson Quotes By Ralph Waldo Emerson", "numberOfItems": 9, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it...\" -Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-landscape-belongs-to-the-person-who-looks-at-it-ralph-waldo/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_the-landscape-belongs-to-the-person-who_1825043.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_the-landscape-belongs-to-the-person-who_1825043.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_the-landscape-belongs-to-the-person-who_1825043.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it...\" -Ralph Waldo Emerson” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Your goodness must have some edge to it -- else it is none.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/your-goodness-must-have-some-edge-to-it-else-it-is-none/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_anderbo_your-goodness-must-have-some-edge-to-it_60086.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_anderbo_your-goodness-must-have-some-edge-to-it_60086.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_anderbo_your-goodness-must-have-some-edge-to-it_60086.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Your goodness must have some edge to it -- else it is none.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Go where there is no path and leave a trail.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/go-where-there-is-no-path-and-leave-a-trail/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_go-where-there-is-no-path-and-leave-a-tr_2317183.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_go-where-there-is-no-path-and-leave-a-tr_2317183.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_go-where-there-is-no-path-and-leave-a-tr_2317183.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Go where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love what is simple and beautiful. 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Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/what-lies-behind-us-and-what-lies-before-us-are-tiny-matters-compared-3/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_what-lies-behind-us-and-what-lies-before_2593317.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_what-lies-behind-us-and-what-lies-before_2593317.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_emerson_what-lies-behind-us-and-what-lies-before_2593317.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. 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Gowns, and pecuniary…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I appeal from your customs. I must be myself. I cannot break myself any longer for you, or you. If you can love me for what I am, we shall be happier. If you cannot, I will still seek to deserve that you should. I must be myself. I will not hide my tastes or aversions. I will so trust that what is deep is holy, that I will do strongly before the sun and moon whatever inly rejoices me and the heart appoints. 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