--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Numbers serve to discipline rhetoric…" description: "\"Numbers serve to discipline rhetoric. Without them it is too easy to follow flights of fancy, to ignore the world as it is and to remold it nearer the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_desire_numbers-serve-to-discipline-rhetoric-wit_656378.png" --- # Numbers serve to discipline rhetoric. Without them it is… ![“Numbers serve to discipline rhetoric. Without them it is too easy to follow flights of fancy, to ignore the world as it is and to remold it nearer the heart's desire.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_desire_numbers-serve-to-discipline-rhetoric-wit_656378.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_desire_numbers-serve-to-discipline-rhetoric-wit_656378.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_desire_numbers-serve-to-discipline-rhetoric-wit_656378.png) > “Numbers serve to discipline rhetoric. Without them it is too easy to follow flights of fancy, to ignore the world as it is and to remold it nearer the heart's desire.” [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. Quantitative data grounds arguments, preventing them from drifting into unfounded speculation and idealized visions. **In simple terms:** Numbers keep arguments realistic. Key Takeaway Use data to test ideas. Themes reason precision truth skepticism Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research reports - policy debates - business planning - academic papers Key Concepts empiricism critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance data with human experience? - When might intuition outweigh statistics? A Different Perspective Numbers can be misused or oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Discipline Rhetoric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline-rhetoric-5239107/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Fancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fancy/) [Flight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flight/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Numbers Serve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers-serve-5239108/) [Rhetoric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhetoric/) [Rhetoric Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhetoric-easy-5239109/) [Too easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-easy/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Oh! 'tis a precious thing, when wives are dead, To find such numbers who will serve instead: And in whatever state a man be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crabbe/oh-tis-a-precious-thing-when-wives-are-dead-to-find-such-numbers-who/) [George Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crabbe/) > [I consider theology to be the rhetoric of morals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-consider-theology-to-be-the-rhetoric-of-morals/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [It is the fault of our rhetoric that we cannot strongly state one fact without seeming to belie some other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-the-fault-of-our-rhetoric-that-we-cannot-strongly-state-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The mystic must be steadily told,-All that you say is just as true without the tedious use of that symbol as with it. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-mystic-must-be-steadily-told-all-that-you-say-is-just-as-true/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Beauty brings its own fancy price, for all that a man hath will he give for his love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/beauty-brings-its-own-fancy-price-for-all-that-a-man-hath-will-he/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [It never was in the power of any man or any community to call the arts into being. They come to serve his actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-never-was-in-the-power-of-any-man-or-any-community-to-call-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The people fancy they hate poetry, and they are all poets and mystics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-people-fancy-they-hate-poetry-and-they-are-all-poets-and-mystics/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Nature never rhymes her children, nor makes two men alike. When we see a great man, we fancy a resemblance to some historical person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-never-rhymes-her-children-nor-makes-two-men-alike-when-we-see/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Ah, if the rich were rich as the poor fancy riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/ah-if-the-rich-were-rich-as-the-poor-fancy-riches/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“ANNALS OF LANGUAGE WORD MAGIC How much really gets lost in translation? BY ADAM GOPNIK Once, in a restaurant in Italy with my family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/annals-of-language-word-magic-how-much-really-gets-lost-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't you dare take the lazy way. It's too easy to excuse yourself because of your ancestry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/don-t-you-dare-take-the-lazy-way-it-s-too-easy-to-excuse-yourself/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [As a Democrat following the 2012 presidential election closely, I was happy to see that South Carolina voted overwhelmingly for Newt Gingrich, a candidate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-schlossberg/as-a-democrat-following-the-2012-presidential-election-closely-i-was/) [Jack Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-schlossberg/) > [LEGO has announced that they are shutting down their U.S. factory and moving it to Canada. LEGO employees say it's their fault because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/lego-has-announced-that-they-are-shutting-down-their-u-s-factory-and/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [For young people in the U.K. who find themselves without anywhere to live - perhaps they have left the family home after a relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-viner/for-young-people-in-the-u-k-who-find-themselves-without-anywhere-to/) [Katharine Viner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-viner/) > [When I see students now, I just don't think they are prepared to work so hard. It comes too easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/when-i-see-students-now-i-just-don-t-think-they-are-prepared-to-work/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) ## 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 Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [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/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Numbers serve to discipline rhetoric. Without them it is too easy to follow flights of fancy, to ignore the world as it is and to remold it nearer the heart's desire.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/numbers-serve-to-discipline-rhetoric-without-them-it-is-too-easy-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/numbers-serve-to-discipline-rhetoric-without-them-it-is-too-easy-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_desire_numbers-serve-to-discipline-rhetoric-wit_656378.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_desire_numbers-serve-to-discipline-rhetoric-wit_656378.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_desire_numbers-serve-to-discipline-rhetoric-wit_656378.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Numbers serve to discipline rhetoric. Without them it is too easy to follow flights of fancy, to ignore the…” — 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": "Numbers serve to discipline rhetoric. Without...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/numbers-serve-to-discipline-rhetoric-without-them-it-is-too-easy-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/numbers-serve-to-discipline-rhetoric-without-them-it-is-too-easy-to/#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 } } ] } ```