--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our relations to each other are oblique…" description: "\"Our relations to each other are oblique and casual.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_casual_our-relations-to-each-other-are-oblique_1256528.png" --- # Our relations to each other are oblique and casual. ![“Our relations to each other are oblique and casual.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_casual_our-relations-to-each-other-are-oblique_1256528.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_casual_our-relations-to-each-other-are-oblique_1256528.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_casual_our-relations-to-each-other-are-oblique_1256528.png) > “Our relations to each other are oblique and casual.” [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. Human connections are indirect and informal, lacking depth and purpose. **In simple terms:** Relationships often feel superficial. Key Takeaway Seek deeper, intentional bonds. Themes relationships individualism social dynamics Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - friendships - community building - networking events Key Concepts authenticity meaningful connection Questions to Reflect On - When do casual interactions enrich life? - How to balance depth with breadth in social life? A Different Perspective Not all casual ties are negative; they can be valuable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Oblique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblique/) ## Related quotes > [Scott Bradfield writes weird, oblique, unsettling stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-giles/scott-bradfield-writes-weird-oblique-unsettling-stuff/) [Jeff Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-giles/) > [It was always a false assumption that white American writers cannot write novels about race unless they're approaching it from a very oblique angle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-row/it-was-always-a-false-assumption-that-white-american-writers-cannot/) [Jess Row](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-row/) > [The only thing that makes a book YA is that it is about teenagers, and it is written in a very conventional, non-artsy, non-pretentious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-smith/the-only-thing-that-makes-a-book-ya-is-that-it-is-about-teenagers-and/) [Russell Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-smith/) > [All that a city will ever allow you is an angle on it, an oblique, indirect sample of what it contains, or what passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-conrad/all-that-a-city-will-ever-allow-you-is-an-angle-on-it-an-oblique/) Peter Conrad > [An oblique angle,” Jack said, and his bout of jealousy was quickly replaced with glee. “Ha! I told you I would work that in!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/an-oblique-angle-jack-said-and-his-bout-of-jealousy-was-quickly/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [My best-known book remains 'Henry and Clara,' a novel about the couple who were with the Lincolns at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mallon/my-best-known-book-remains-henry-and-clara-a-novel-about-the-couple/) [Thomas Mallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mallon/) > [I'm fond of implied narratives, oblique angles, and leaving a little room for the viewer to finish a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carter/i-m-fond-of-implied-narratives-oblique-angles-and-leaving-a-little/) [Keith Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carter/) > [There's always the pressure on the director of how to transition from one scene to another, especially when it can really be oblique on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-graves/there-s-always-the-pressure-on-the-director-of-how-to-transition-from/) [Alex Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-graves/) > [“Personal life, expression, knowledge, and history advance obliquely, and not directly, toward ends or toward concepts. That which is sought too deliberately is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/personal-life-expression-knowledge-and-history-advance-obliquely-and/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I'm an oblique guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-penn/i-m-an-oblique-guy/) [Michael Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-penn/) > [I'm interested is the oblique as a concept deeply connected to human lived experience, not separate from it. I was listening to an interview…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-lundy-martin/i-m-interested-is-the-oblique-as-a-concept-deeply-connected-to-human/) [Dawn Lundy Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-lundy-martin/) > [I am oblique; I think that has to do with my own nature. I like trying to do things which work on many levels,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-j-pakula/i-am-oblique-i-think-that-has-to-do-with-my-own-nature-i-like-trying/) [Alan J. Pakula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-j-pakula/) > [“Life’s easy. It’s living it that’s difficult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-sasso/life-s-easy-it-s-living-it-that-s-difficult/) Mike Sasso > [Relations between States, as between individuals, must be regulated not by armed force, but in accordance with...truth, justice and vigorous and sincere co-operation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-xxiii/relations-between-states-as-between-individuals-must-be-regulated-not/) [Pope John XXIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-xxiii/) > [The thing I am most interested in is power relations - it is so easy in a relationship like that \[of an artist and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/the-thing-i-am-most-interested-in-is-power-relations-it-is-so-easy-in/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) ## 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 Casual quotes > [I love Christopher Bailey and Burberry, Mulberry for bags, and Hudson for jeans. I like a little bit of designer with a bit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cara-delevingne/i-love-christopher-bailey-and-burberry-mulberry-for-bags-and-hudson/) [Cara Delevingne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cara-delevingne/) > [Life is a right, not collateral or casual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suheir-hammad/life-is-a-right-not-collateral-or-casual/) [Suheir Hammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suheir-hammad/) > [“Nothing about sex is casual. In the best situation, sex can create life, but more often it ruins lives. And so, it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-jack/nothing-about-sex-is-casual-in-the-best-situation-sex-can-create-life/) [Genevieve Jack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-jack/) > [Donald Trump is a pretty casual guy. He calls me Paul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/donald-trump-is-a-pretty-casual-guy-he-calls-me-paul/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [Religion should be the rule of life, not a casual incident in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/religion-should-be-the-rule-of-life-not-a-casual-incident-in-it/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [What is meant by reality? It would seem to be something very erratic, very undependable - now to be found in a dusty road,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-is-meant-by-reality-it-would-seem-to-be-something-very-erratic/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I love watches. I have a Hublot, a Breitling, and a Cartier. Different accessories that I match together just to be comfortable and casual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandler-parsons/i-love-watches-i-have-a-hublot-a-breitling-and-a-cartier-different/) [Chandler Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandler-parsons/) > [Every office interprets business casual differently. Feel out your office!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lafleur/every-office-interprets-business-casual-differently-feel-out-your/) [Sarah Lafleur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lafleur/) > [I spend the majority of my time in the office and I usually wear a casual bandage dress and flip-flops or slippers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huda-kattan/i-spend-the-majority-of-my-time-in-the-office-and-i-usually-wear-a/) [Huda Kattan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huda-kattan/) > [My days among the dead are passed; Around me I behold, Where'er these casual eyes are cast, The mighty minds of old; My never-failing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/my-days-among-the-dead-are-passed-around-me-i-behold-where-er-these/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [The difference with Cleveland is that the racial tension was not a casual taste of it. It was outlandish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-howard/the-difference-with-cleveland-is-that-the-racial-tension-was-not-a/) [Terrence Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-howard/) > [Daily fervent prayers seeking forgiveness and special help and direction are essential to our lives and the nourishment of our testimonies. When we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-l-staheli/daily-fervent-prayers-seeking-forgiveness-and-special-help-and/) Donald L. Staheli > [Even a casual observer can see that not one of the systems, institutions, and devices that our species has put into place on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/even-a-casual-observer-can-see-that-not-one-of-the-systems/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Have you told Eric and the rest of them that—” “That I’m a vampire? No. It isn’t the sort of thing you just drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/have-you-told-eric-and-the-rest-of-them-that-that-i-m-a-vampire-no-it/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The difference between the casual impression and the intensified image is about as great as that separating the average business letter from a poem.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-callahan/the-difference-between-the-casual-impression-and-the-intensified/) [Harry Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-callahan/) Browse all 547 Casual quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our relations to each other are oblique and casual.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/our-relations-to-each-other-are-oblique-and-casual/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Casual" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/our-relations-to-each-other-are-oblique-and-casual/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_casual_our-relations-to-each-other-are-oblique_1256528.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_casual_our-relations-to-each-other-are-oblique_1256528.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_casual_our-relations-to-each-other-are-oblique_1256528.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our relations to each other are oblique and casual.” — 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": "Our relations to each other are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/our-relations-to-each-other-are-oblique-and-casual/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/our-relations-to-each-other-are-oblique-and-casual/#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 } } ] } ```