---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every rational creature has all nature…"
description: "\"Every rational creature has all nature for his dowry and estate. It is his, if he will. He may divest himself of it; he may creepinto a corner, and abd..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_animals_every-rational-creature-has-all-nature-f_2967949.png"
---

#  Every rational creature has all nature for his dowry and…

![“Every rational creature has all nature for his dowry and estate. It is his, if he will. He may divest himself of it; he may creepinto a corner, and abdicate his kingdom, as most men do, but he is entitled to the world by his constitution.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_animals_every-rational-creature-has-all-nature-f_2967949.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_animals_every-rational-creature-has-all-nature-f_2967949.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_animals_every-rational-creature-has-all-nature-f_2967949.png)

> “Every rational creature has all nature for his dowry and estate. It is his, if he will. He may divest himself of it; he may creepinto a corner, and abdicate his kingdom, as most men do, but he is entitled to the world by his constitution.”

[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.

Every person inherently owns the world’s resources; they may choose to use or abandon them, but the right to existence remains.

**In simple terms:** People own the world by nature.

Key Takeaway

Recognize your inherent rights and responsibilities.

Themes

rights ownership individualism

Mood

thoughtful philosophical

Type

essay inspirational

When to use this quote

- career choices
- property rights
- personal development

Key Concepts

natural law self-determination

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “world” mean to you personally?
- How do you balance personal entitlement with communal duty?

A Different Perspective

Rights can be limited by societal structures.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Corners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corners/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Dowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dowry/) [Dowry Estate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dowry-estate-4554298/) [Entitled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entitled/) [Estates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/estates/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Kingdoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kingdoms/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Dowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-dowry-2076404/) [Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational/) [Rational Creature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational-creature-2076403/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [“We are taught by great actions that the universe is the property of every individual in it. Every rational creature has all nature for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-are-taught-by-great-actions-that-the-universe-is-the-property-of/)

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

> [“When his daughters were born he had assigned to each of them, for her dowry, an estate with three hundred serfs; but one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/when-his-daughters-were-born-he-had-assigned-to-each-of-them-for-her/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [Good and evil, reward and punishment, are the only motives to a rational creature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/good-and-evil-reward-and-punishment-are-the-only-motives-to-a-2/)

[John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/)

> [It is impossible for any rational creature to be happy without acting all for God. God Himself could not make him happy any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/it-is-impossible-for-any-rational-creature-to-be-happy-without-acting/)

[David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/)

> [Do not consider me now as an elegant female intending to plague you, but as a rational creature speaking the truth from her heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/do-not-consider-me-now-as-an-elegant-female-intending-to-plague-you/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [Good and evil, reward and punishment, are the only motives to a rational creature: these are the spur and reins whereby all mankind are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/good-and-evil-reward-and-punishment-are-the-only-motives-to-a/)

[John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/)

> [Man is said to be a rational creature; but should it not rather be said, that man is a creature capable of being rational,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/man-is-said-to-be-a-rational-creature-but-should-it-not-rather-be/)

[Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/)

> [In man (as the only rational creature on earth) those natural capacities which are directed to the use of his reason are to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/in-man-as-the-only-rational-creature-on-earth-those-natural/)

[Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/)

> [“I can hardly regard her in the light of a rational creature, so obstinately has she persisted in forming a fabulous notion of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-can-hardly-regard-her-in-the-light-of-a-rational-creature-so/)

[Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/)

> [To stand well in the estimation of one's country is a happiness that no rational creature can be insensible of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/to-stand-well-in-the-estimation-of-one-s-country-is-a-happiness-that/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [Gratitude is the first sign of a thinking, rational creature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solanus-casey/gratitude-is-the-first-sign-of-a-thinking-rational-creature/)

[Solanus Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solanus-casey/)

> [A feeble man can see the farms that are fenced and tilled, the houses that are built. The strong man sees the possible houses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-feeble-man-can-see-the-farms-that-are-fenced-and-tilled-the-houses/)

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

> [Hence, instead of Man Thinking, we have the bookworm. Hence, the book-learned class, who value books, as such; not as related to nature and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/hence-instead-of-man-thinking-we-have-the-bookworm-hence-the-book/)

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

> [If the gatherer gathers too-much, Nature takes out of the man what she puts into his chest; swells the estate, but kills the owner.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-the-gatherer-gathers-too-much-nature-takes-out-of-the-man-what-she/)

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

> [A man in a cave or in a camp, a nomad, will die with no more estate than the wolf or the horse leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-in-a-cave-or-in-a-camp-a-nomad-will-die-with-no-more-estate/)

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

## 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 Animals quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/)

[Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/)

> [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/)

[Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/)

> [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/)

[Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/)

> [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/)

[Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/)

> [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/)

[Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/)

> [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/)

[Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/)

> [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/)

[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

> [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/)

[Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/)

> [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/)

[Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/)

[Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Every rational creature has all nature for his dowry and estate. It is his, if he will. He may divest himself of it; he may creepinto a corner, and abdicate his kingdom, as most men do, but he is entitled to the world by his constitution.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-rational-creature-has-all-nature-for-his-dowry-and-estate-it-is/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Animals"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-rational-creature-has-all-nature-for-his-dowry-and-estate-it-is/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_animals_every-rational-creature-has-all-nature-f_2967949.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_animals_every-rational-creature-has-all-nature-f_2967949.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_animals_every-rational-creature-has-all-nature-f_2967949.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Every rational creature has all nature for his dowry and estate. It is his, if he will. He may divest…” — 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": "Every rational creature has all nature...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-rational-creature-has-all-nature-for-his-dowry-and-estate-it-is/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-rational-creature-has-all-nature-for-his-dowry-and-estate-it-is/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
