--- title: "7 Extraordinary Quotes By Ralph Waldo Emerson" description: "7 Extraordinary quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Plus more from Ralph Waldo Emerson and more Extraordinary sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alpine_it-is-true-that-genius-takes-its-rise-ou_1005511.png" --- > [It is true that genius takes its rise out of the mountains of rectitude; that all beauty and power which men covet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-true-that-genius-takes-its-rise-out-of-the-mountains-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alpine_it-is-true-that-genius-takes-its-rise-ou_1005511.png) > [Men of extraordinary success, in their honest moments, have always sung, "Not unto us, not unto us." According to the faith of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/men-of-extraordinary-success-in-their-honest-moments-have-always-sung/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_altars_men-of-extraordinary-success-in-their-ho_1396593.png) > [An imaginative book renders us much more service at first, by stimulating us through its tropes, than afterward, when we arrive atthe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/an-imaginative-book-renders-us-much-more-service-at-first-by/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fe/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_an-imaginative-book-renders-us-much-more_1483128.png) > [If a man knew anything, he would sit in a corner and be modest; but he is such an ignorant peacock, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-a-man-knew-anything-he-would-sit-in-a-corner-and-be-modest-but-he/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_corners_if-a-man-knew-anything-he-would-sit-in-a_1545895.png) > [Without looking, then, to those extraordinary social influences which are now acting in precisely this direction, but only at whatis inevitably doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/without-looking-then-to-those-extraordinary-social-influences-which/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_acting_without-looking-then-to-those-extraordin_1899469.jpg) > [It happens to us once or twice in a lifetime to be drunk with some book which probably has some extraordinary relative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-happens-to-us-once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime-to-be-drunk-with-some/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_it-happens-to-us-once-or-twice-in-a-life_3150059.jpg) > [Any extraordinary degree of beauty in man or woman involves a moral charm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/any-extraordinary-degree-of-beauty-in-man-or-woman-involves-a-moral/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_any-extraordinary-degree-of-beauty-in-ma_3157231.png) ## Other authors on Extraordinary ## 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/extraordinary/ralph-waldo-emerson/#itemlist", "name": "7 Extraordinary Quotes By Ralph Waldo Emerson", "numberOfItems": 7, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is true that genius takes its rise out of the mountains of rectitude; that all beauty and power which men covet are somehow born out of that Alpine district; that any extraordinary degree of beauty in man or woman involves a moral charm.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-true-that-genius-takes-its-rise-out-of-the-mountains-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alpine_it-is-true-that-genius-takes-its-rise-ou_1005511.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alpine_it-is-true-that-genius-takes-its-rise-ou_1005511.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alpine_it-is-true-that-genius-takes-its-rise-ou_1005511.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is true that genius takes its rise out of the mountains of rectitude; that all beauty and power which men…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Men of extraordinary success, in their honest moments, have always sung, \"Not unto us, not unto us.\" According to the faith of their times, they have built altars to Fortune, or to Destiny, or to St. Julian. Their success lay in their parallelism to the course of thought, which found in them an unobstructed channel; and the wonders of which they were the visible conductors seemed to their eye their deed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/men-of-extraordinary-success-in-their-honest-moments-have-always-sung/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_altars_men-of-extraordinary-success-in-their-ho_1396593.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_altars_men-of-extraordinary-success-in-their-ho_1396593.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_altars_men-of-extraordinary-success-in-their-ho_1396593.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men of extraordinary success, in their honest moments, have always sung, \"Not unto us, not unto us.\"…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An imaginative book renders us much more service at first, by stimulating us through its tropes, than afterward, when we arrive atthe precise sense of the author. I think nothing is of any value in books, excepting the transcendental and extraordinary.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/an-imaginative-book-renders-us-much-more-service-at-first-by/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fe/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_an-imaginative-book-renders-us-much-more_1483128.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fe/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_an-imaginative-book-renders-us-much-more_1483128.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fe/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_an-imaginative-book-renders-us-much-more_1483128.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An imaginative book renders us much more service at first, by stimulating us through its tropes, than…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If a man knew anything, he would sit in a corner and be modest; but he is such an ignorant peacock, that he goes bustling up and down, and hits on extraordinary discoveries.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-a-man-knew-anything-he-would-sit-in-a-corner-and-be-modest-but-he/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_corners_if-a-man-knew-anything-he-would-sit-in-a_1545895.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_corners_if-a-man-knew-anything-he-would-sit-in-a_1545895.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_corners_if-a-man-knew-anything-he-would-sit-in-a_1545895.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If a man knew anything, he would sit in a corner and be modest; but he is such an ignorant peacock, that he…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Without looking, then, to those extraordinary social influences which are now acting in precisely this direction, but only at whatis inevitably doing around us, I think we must regard the land as a commanding and increasing power on the citizen, the sanative and Americanizing influence, which promises to disclose new virtues for ages to come.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/without-looking-then-to-those-extraordinary-social-influences-which/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_acting_without-looking-then-to-those-extraordin_1899469.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_acting_without-looking-then-to-those-extraordin_1899469.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_acting_without-looking-then-to-those-extraordin_1899469.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Without looking, then, to those extraordinary social influences which are now acting in precisely this…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It happens to us once or twice in a lifetime to be drunk with some book which probably has some extraordinary relative power to intoxicate us and none other; and having exhausted that cup of enchantment we go groping in libraries all our years afterwards in the hope of being in Paradise again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-happens-to-us-once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime-to-be-drunk-with-some/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_it-happens-to-us-once-or-twice-in-a-life_3150059.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_it-happens-to-us-once-or-twice-in-a-life_3150059.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_it-happens-to-us-once-or-twice-in-a-life_3150059.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It happens to us once or twice in a lifetime to be drunk with some book which probably has some…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any extraordinary degree of beauty in man or woman involves a moral charm.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/any-extraordinary-degree-of-beauty-in-man-or-woman-involves-a-moral/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_any-extraordinary-degree-of-beauty-in-ma_3157231.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_any-extraordinary-degree-of-beauty-in-ma_3157231.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_beauty_any-extraordinary-degree-of-beauty-in-ma_3157231.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Any extraordinary degree of beauty in man or woman involves a moral charm.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/ralph-waldo-emerson/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/ralph-waldo-emerson/", "name": "Extraordinary Quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/ralph-waldo-emerson/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alpine_it-is-true-that-genius-takes-its-rise-ou_1005511.png" }, "description": "7 Extraordinary quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Plus more from Ralph Waldo Emerson and more Extraordinary sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/ralph-waldo-emerson/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/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": "Extraordinary", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/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 } } ] } ```