--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But I cannot recite, even thus rudely…" description: "\"But I cannot recite, even thus rudely, laws of the intellect, without remembering that lofty and sequestered class of men who have been its prophets an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_age_but-i-cannot-recite-even-thus-rudely-law_3098592.png" --- # But I cannot recite, even thus rudely, laws of the… ![“But I cannot recite, even thus rudely, laws of the intellect, without remembering that lofty and sequestered class of men who have been its prophets and oracles, the high-priesthood of the pure reason, the Trismegisti, the expounders of the principles of thought from age to age.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_age_but-i-cannot-recite-even-thus-rudely-law_3098592.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_age_but-i-cannot-recite-even-thus-rudely-law_3098592.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_age_but-i-cannot-recite-even-thus-rudely-law_3098592.png) > “But I cannot recite, even thus rudely, laws of the intellect, without remembering that lofty and sequestered class of men who have been its prophets and oracles, the high-priesthood of the pure reason, the Trismegisti, the expounders of the principles of thought from age to age.” [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. Intellect’s foundations are shaped by a lineage of profound thinkers, the “high priesthood” of pure reason, whose teachings persist across ages. **In simple terms:** Great minds guide our thinking. Key Takeaway Study classic philosophy. Themes intellect tradition philosophy Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic study - personal reflection - teaching - writing - debate Key Concepts epistemology history of ideas Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor intellectual tradition? - What modern ideas replace old doctrines? A Different Perspective Modern science challenges some ancient assumptions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Lofty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lofty/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Oracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oracles/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Priesthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priesthood/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Prophet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophet/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [Fortunately we have learnt to combine these ideas, not in the mutual toleration of sub-contraries, but in the affirmation of contraries, that transcending of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/fortunately-we-have-learnt-to-combine-these-ideas-not-in-the-mutual/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [You think that your silence on certain topics, perhaps in the face of injustice, or unkindness, or mean-spiritedness, causes others to reserve judgement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/you-think-that-your-silence-on-certain-topics-perhaps-in-the-face-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The student is to read history actively and not passively; to esteem his own life the text, and books the commentary. Thus compelled, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-student-is-to-read-history-actively-and-not-passively-to-esteem/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In excited conversation we have glimpses of the universe, hints of power native to the soul, far-darting lights and shadows of an Andes landscape,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-excited-conversation-we-have-glimpses-of-the-universe-hints-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The philosophy of waiting is sustained by all the oracles of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-philosophy-of-waiting-is-sustained-by-all-the-oracles-of-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Enlarge not thy destiny, said the oracle: endeavor not to do more than is given thee in charge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/enlarge-not-thy-destiny-said-the-oracle-endeavor-not-to-do-more-than/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Each man is a hero and an oracle to somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/each-man-is-a-hero-and-an-oracle-to-somebody/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Truth is always present; it only needs to lift the iron lids of the mind's eye to read its oracles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/truth-is-always-present-it-only-needs-to-lift-the-iron-lids-of-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The secret of poetry is never explained,— is always new. We have not got farther than mere wonder at the delicacy of the touch,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-secret-of-poetry-is-never-explained-is-always-new-we-have-not-got-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The secret of poetry is never explained - is always new. We have not got farther than mere wonder at the delicacy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-secret-of-poetry-is-never-explained-is-always-new-we-have-not-got/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The god, O men, seems to me to be really wise; and by his oracle to mean this, that the wisdom of this world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-god-o-men-seems-to-me-to-be-really-wise-and-by-his-oracle-to-mean/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Yet still there whispers the small voice within, Heard through Gain's silence, and o'er Glory's din; Whatever creed be taught or land be trod,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/yet-still-there-whispers-the-small-voice-within-heard-through-gain-s/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [I despise the proper constructions and cases, because I think it very unfitting that the words of the celestial oracle should be restricted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/i-despise-the-proper-constructions-and-cases-because-i-think-it-very/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [Nero wasn't worried at all when he heard the utterance of the Delphic Oracle: "Beware the age of seventy-three." Plenty of time to enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-p-cavafy/nero-wasn-t-worried-at-all-when-he-heard-the-utterance-of-the-delphic/) [C.P. Cavafy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-p-cavafy/) > [When the Lilliputians first saw Gulliver's watch, that "wonderful kind of engine...a globe, half silver and half of some transparent metal," they identified it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/when-the-lilliputians-first-saw-gulliver-s-watch-that-wonderful-kind/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## 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 Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [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/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But I cannot recite, even thus rudely, laws of the intellect, without remembering that lofty and sequestered class of men who have been its prophets and oracles, the high-priesthood of the pure reason, the Trismegisti, the expounders of the principles of thought from age to age.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/but-i-cannot-recite-even-thus-rudely-laws-of-the-intellect-without/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/but-i-cannot-recite-even-thus-rudely-laws-of-the-intellect-without/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_age_but-i-cannot-recite-even-thus-rudely-law_3098592.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_age_but-i-cannot-recite-even-thus-rudely-law_3098592.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_age_but-i-cannot-recite-even-thus-rudely-law_3098592.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But I cannot recite, even thus rudely, laws of the intellect, without remembering that lofty and sequestered…” — 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": "But I cannot recite, even thus...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/but-i-cannot-recite-even-thus-rudely-laws-of-the-intellect-without/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/but-i-cannot-recite-even-thus-rudely-laws-of-the-intellect-without/#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 } } ] } ```