---
title: "8 Excuse Quotes By Ralph Waldo Emerson"
description: "8 Excuse quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Plus more from Ralph Waldo Emerson and more Excuse sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_if-eyes-were-made-for-seeing-then-beauty_358653.png"
---

> [If eyes were made for seeing, then beauty is its own excuse for being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-eyes-were-made-for-seeing-then-beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_if-eyes-were-made-for-seeing-then-beauty_358653.png)

> [Then beauty is its own excuse for being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/then-beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_then-beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being_615932.png)

> [“Beauty is its own excuse for being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being-21102_2110225.png)

> [Tell them dear, that if eyes were made for seeing, Then beauty is its own excuse for being: Why thou wert there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/tell-them-dear-that-if-eyes-were-made-for-seeing-then-beauty-is-its/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_tell-them-dear-that-if-eyes-were-made-fo_2126130.png)

> [We must hold a man amenable to reason for the choice of his daily craft or profession. It is not an excuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-must-hold-a-man-amenable-to-reason-for-the-choice-of-his-daily/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_amenable_we-must-hold-a-man-amenable-to-reason-fo_2225802.png)

> [Rhodora! If the sages ask thee why This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, Tell them, dear, that if eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/rhodora-if-the-sages-ask-thee-why-this-charm-is-wasted-on-the-earth/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a58/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_rhodora-if-the-sages-ask-thee-why-this-c_2245168.png)

> [The reverence for the deeds of our ancestors is a treacherous sentiment. Their merit was not to reverence the old, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-reverence-for-the-deeds-of-our-ancestors-is-a-treacherous/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_ancestor_the-reverence-for-the-deeds-of-our-ances_2421127.png)

> [We are such lovers of self-reliance, that we excuse in a man many sins, if he will show us a complete satisfaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-are-such-lovers-of-self-reliance-that-we-excuse-in-a-man-many-sins/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_we-are-such-lovers-of-self-reliance-that_2991710.png)

## Other authors on Excuse

## 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/excuse/ralph-waldo-emerson/#itemlist",
            "name": "8 Excuse Quotes By Ralph Waldo Emerson",
            "numberOfItems": 8,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "If eyes were made for seeing, then beauty is its own excuse for being.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-eyes-were-made-for-seeing-then-beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_if-eyes-were-made-for-seeing-then-beauty_358653.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_if-eyes-were-made-for-seeing-then-beauty_358653.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_if-eyes-were-made-for-seeing-then-beauty_358653.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“If eyes were made for seeing, then beauty is its own excuse for being.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Then beauty is its own excuse for being.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/then-beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_then-beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being_615932.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_then-beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being_615932.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_then-beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being_615932.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Then beauty is its own excuse for being.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Beauty is its own excuse for being.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being-21102_2110225.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being-21102_2110225.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_beauty-is-its-own-excuse-for-being-21102_2110225.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Beauty is its own excuse for being.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Tell them dear, that if eyes were made for seeing, Then beauty is its own excuse for being: Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose! I never sought to ask, I never knew: But, in my simple ignorance suppose The selfsame power that brought me there brought you.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/tell-them-dear-that-if-eyes-were-made-for-seeing-then-beauty-is-its/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_tell-them-dear-that-if-eyes-were-made-fo_2126130.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_tell-them-dear-that-if-eyes-were-made-fo_2126130.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_tell-them-dear-that-if-eyes-were-made-fo_2126130.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Tell them dear, that if eyes were made for seeing, Then beauty is its own excuse for being: Why thou wert…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "We must hold a man amenable to reason for the choice of his daily craft or profession. It is not an excuse any longer for his deeds that they are the custom of his trade. What business has he with an evil trade?",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-must-hold-a-man-amenable-to-reason-for-the-choice-of-his-daily/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_amenable_we-must-hold-a-man-amenable-to-reason-fo_2225802.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_amenable_we-must-hold-a-man-amenable-to-reason-fo_2225802.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_amenable_we-must-hold-a-man-amenable-to-reason-fo_2225802.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“We must hold a man amenable to reason for the choice of his daily craft or profession. It is not an excuse…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 6,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Rhodora! If the sages ask thee why This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing, Then Beauty is its own excuse for being.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/rhodora-if-the-sages-ask-thee-why-this-charm-is-wasted-on-the-earth/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a58/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_rhodora-if-the-sages-ask-thee-why-this-c_2245168.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a58/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_rhodora-if-the-sages-ask-thee-why-this-c_2245168.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a58/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_rhodora-if-the-sages-ask-thee-why-this-c_2245168.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Rhodora! If the sages ask thee why This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, Tell them, dear, that if eyes…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 7,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The reverence for the deeds of our ancestors is a treacherous sentiment. Their merit was not to reverence the old, but to honor the present moment; and we falsely make them excuses of the very habit which they hated and defied.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-reverence-for-the-deeds-of-our-ancestors-is-a-treacherous/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_ancestor_the-reverence-for-the-deeds-of-our-ances_2421127.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_ancestor_the-reverence-for-the-deeds-of-our-ances_2421127.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_ancestor_the-reverence-for-the-deeds-of-our-ances_2421127.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The reverence for the deeds of our ancestors is a treacherous sentiment. Their merit was not to reverence…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 8,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "We are such lovers of self-reliance, that we excuse in a man many sins, if he will show us a complete satisfaction in his position, which asks no leave to be, of mine, or any man's good opinion.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-are-such-lovers-of-self-reliance-that-we-excuse-in-a-man-many-sins/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_we-are-such-lovers-of-self-reliance-that_2991710.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_we-are-such-lovers-of-self-reliance-that_2991710.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_asks_we-are-such-lovers-of-self-reliance-that_2991710.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“We are such lovers of self-reliance, that we excuse in a man many sins, if he will show us a complete…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/ralph-waldo-emerson/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/ralph-waldo-emerson/",
            "name": "Excuse Quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/ralph-waldo-emerson/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_if-eyes-were-made-for-seeing-then-beauty_358653.png"
            },
            "description": "8 Excuse quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Plus more from Ralph Waldo Emerson and more Excuse sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/ralph-waldo-emerson/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/ralph-waldo-emerson/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Excuse",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/ralph-waldo-emerson/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
