--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man must consider what rich realms he…" description: "\"“A man must consider what rich realms he abdicates when he becomes a conformist”\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_conformist_a-man-must-consider-what-rich-realms-he_2538766.png" --- # A man must consider what rich realms he abdicates when he… ![“A man must consider what rich realms he abdicates when he becomes a conformist” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_conformist_a-man-must-consider-what-rich-realms-he_2538766.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_conformist_a-man-must-consider-what-rich-realms-he_2538766.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_conformist_a-man-must-consider-what-rich-realms-he_2538766.png) > ““A man must consider what rich realms he abdicates when he becomes a conformist”” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing conformity sacrifices the rich inner worlds we could explore, limiting personal growth and societal contribution. **In simple terms:** Being a conformist gives up inner richness. Key Takeaway Embrace individuality over conformity. Themes individuality conformity growth Mood critical inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - artistic expression - political activism - personal development Key Concepts existentialism social pressure Questions to Reflect On - What inner realms are you neglecting? - How does conformity affect your creativity? A Different Perspective Conformity may provide safety but stifles potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abdicates Conformist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abdicates-conformist-1413607/) [Conformist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformist/) [Man Consider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-consider-440719/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Realms Abdicates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realms-abdicates-1413608/) [Rich Realms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-realms-1413609/) ## Related quotes > [A man must consider what a rich realm he abdicates when he becomes a conformist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-must-consider-what-a-rich-realm-he-abdicates-when-he-becomes-a/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man must consider what a blindman's-buff is this game of conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-must-consider-what-a-blindman-s-buff-is-this-game-of-conformity-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Intellectual tasting of life will not supersede muscular activity. If a man should consider the nicety of the passage of a piece of bread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/intellectual-tasting-of-life-will-not-supersede-muscular-activity-if/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When a man becomes a conformist, he is sacrificing the richness of independent thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/when-a-man-becomes-a-conformist-he-is-sacrificing-the-richness-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [You must pay for conformity. All goes well as long as you run with conformists. But you, who are honest men in other particulars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/you-must-pay-for-conformity-all-goes-well-as-long-as-you-run-with/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He who would be a man must therefore be a non-conformist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/he-who-would-be-a-man-must-therefore-be-a-non-conformist/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/whoso-would-be-a-man-must-be-a-nonconformist/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [There must be a new world if there is to be any world at all!... These days of universal death must be days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/there-must-be-a-new-world-if-there-is-to-be-any-world-at-all-these/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [At the approach of danger two voices speak with equal force in the heart of man: one very reasonably tells the man to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/at-the-approach-of-danger-two-voices-speak-with-equal-force-in-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“At the advent of danger there are always two voices that speak with equal force in the human heart: one very reasonably invites a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/at-the-advent-of-danger-there-are-always-two-voices-that-speak-with/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I've never met a person, I don't care what his condition, in whom I could not see possibilities. I don't care how much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preston-bradley/i-ve-never-met-a-person-i-don-t-care-what-his-condition-in-whom-i/) [Preston Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preston-bradley/) > [A man should always consider how much he has more than he wants, and how much more unhappy he might be than he really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-should-always-consider-how-much-he-has-more-than-he-wants-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God never made man that he may consider another man as untouchable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/god-never-made-man-that-he-may-consider-another-man-as-untouchable/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I cannot allow another man to take what I already consider mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/i-cannot-allow-another-man-to-take-what-i-already-consider-mine/) [Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/) > [It is a most mortifying reflection for a man to consider what he has done, compared to what he might have done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-a-most-mortifying-reflection-for-a-man-to-consider-what-he-has/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## 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/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Conformist quotes > [Today it is the skeptics who are the social conformists, though because of powerful intellectual propaganda they continue to enjoy thinking of themselves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/today-it-is-the-skeptics-who-are-the-social-conformists-though/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [While my dad is a rebel at heart, I am a conformist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivaan-shah/while-my-dad-is-a-rebel-at-heart-i-am-a-conformist/) [Vivaan Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivaan-shah/) > [Our legal system, including the police, is anti-Dalit and anti-poor. The death penalty laws' wrathful majesty, in blood-shot equality, deals the fatal blow on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-r-krishna-iyer/our-legal-system-including-the-police-is-anti-dalit-and-anti-poor-the/) [V. R. Krishna Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-r-krishna-iyer/) > [Only conformists are ever adored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/only-conformists-are-ever-adored/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [The American people...have a stake in non-conformity. For they know that the American genius is non-conformist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/the-american-people-have-a-stake-in-non-conformity-for-they-know-that/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [The first step in freeing yourself from social restrictions is the realization that there is no such thing as a safe code of conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/the-first-step-in-freeing-yourself-from-social-restrictions-is-the/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [I think it killed my sister as the times she was living in were so conformist. This is a subject I really want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/i-think-it-killed-my-sister-as-the-times-she-was-living-in-were-so/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [Not long ago, a hat was a conformist accessory. Then the 1960s came along, and young people didn't want to wear hats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/not-long-ago-a-hat-was-a-conformist-accessory-then-the-1960s-came/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [It's the non-conformist who gives color to history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-fuldheim/it-s-the-non-conformist-who-gives-color-to-history/) [Dorothy Fuldheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-fuldheim/) > [“Mom and Dad liked to make a big point about never surrendering to fear or to prejudice or to the narrow-minded conformist sticks-in-the-mud who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/mom-and-dad-liked-to-make-a-big-point-about-never-surrendering-to/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [Woe to him inside a non-conformist clique who does not conform to non-conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/woe-to-him-inside-a-non-conformist-clique-who-does-not-conform-to-non/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Schools are generally feminine places, institutions where conformity is valued, taught largely by conformist women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-m-bardwick/schools-are-generally-feminine-places-institutions-where-conformity/) [Judith M Bardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-m-bardwick/) > [The courage to be as oneself within the atmosphere of Enlightenment is the courage to affirm oneself as a bridge from a lower to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/the-courage-to-be-as-oneself-within-the-atmosphere-of-enlightenment/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [ \[F\]or the most part football these days is the opium of the people, not to speak of their crack cocaine. Its icon is the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/f-or-the-most-part-football-these-days-is-the-opium-of-the-people-not/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) [Browse all 143 Conformist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A man must consider what rich realms he abdicates when he becomes a conformist”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-must-consider-what-rich-realms-he-abdicates-when-he-becomes-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conformist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-must-consider-what-rich-realms-he-abdicates-when-he-becomes-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_conformist_a-man-must-consider-what-rich-realms-he_2538766.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_conformist_a-man-must-consider-what-rich-realms-he_2538766.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_conformist_a-man-must-consider-what-rich-realms-he_2538766.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A man must consider what rich realms he abdicates when he becomes a conformist” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A man must consider what rich...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-must-consider-what-rich-realms-he-abdicates-when-he-becomes-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-must-consider-what-rich-realms-he-abdicates-when-he-becomes-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```