--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The cure for false theology is motherwit…" description: "\"The cure for false theology is motherwit. Forget your books and traditions, and obey your moral perceptions at this hour.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_the-cure-for-false-theology-is-motherwit_1720842.png" --- # The cure for false theology is motherwit. Forget your… ![“The cure for false theology is motherwit. Forget your books and traditions, and obey your moral perceptions at this hour.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_the-cure-for-false-theology-is-motherwit_1720842.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_the-cure-for-false-theology-is-motherwit_1720842.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_the-cure-for-false-theology-is-motherwit_1720842.png) > “The cure for false theology is motherwit. Forget your books and traditions, and obey your moral perceptions at this hour.” [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. True wisdom comes from innate moral sense, not from external doctrines or texts. **In simple terms:** Trust your inner moral sense over learned doctrine. Key Takeaway Listen to your own moral compass now. Themes individualism intuition skepticism authenticity Mood reflective challenging Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal decision making - ethical dilemmas - educational reform - spiritual practice Key Concepts moral perception critical thinking self-reliance Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance inner moral sense with external knowledge? - When might tradition be beneficial? A Different Perspective Overreliance on intuition can ignore valuable knowledge and experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cure False](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cure-false-1336340/) [Cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cures/) [False Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-theology-1113658/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-books-1336341/) [Forget you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-you/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Motherwit Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motherwit-forget-1336339/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) [Theology Motherwit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology-motherwit-1336338/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) ## Related quotes > [I have the same confidence in the ability of our people to reject noxious literature as I have in their capacity to sort out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/i-have-the-same-confidence-in-the-ability-of-our-people-to-reject/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/forget-the-books-you-want-to-write-think-only-of-the-book-you-are/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [We are never allowed to forget that some books are badly written; we should remember that sometimes they're badly read, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/we-are-never-allowed-to-forget-that-some-books-are-badly-written-we/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [ Leo Crowley, Harry \[Truman\]'s Foreign Economic Administrator, tells Congressmen the theory...: 'If you create good governments in foreign countries, automatically you will have better… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/leo-crowley-harry-truman-s-foreign-economic-administrator-tells/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How do you become better tomorrow? By improving yourself, the world is made better. Be not afraid of growing too slowly. Be afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/how-do-you-become-better-tomorrow-by-improving-yourself-the-world-is/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I wish I could forget you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-laura/i-wish-i-could-forget-you/) [Jasmine Laura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-laura/) > [The only relationship we can have in this life is the relationship we have with ourselves. We cannot love anybody more than we love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/the-only-relationship-we-can-have-in-this-life-is-the-relationship-we/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [Trying to forget someone you love, Is like trying to forget your own self, and forgetting your own self is like forgetting the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria/trying-to-forget-someone-you-love-is-like-trying-to-forget-your-own/) [Maria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria/) > [I don't believe in luck. ... It's persistence, hard work, and not forgetting your dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-don-t-believe-in-luck-it-s-persistence-hard-work-and-not-forgetting/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [In every form of art, you really want the experience of the images to transcend the medium, for the medium to disappear into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-henson/in-every-form-of-art-you-really-want-the-experience-of-the-images-to/) [Bill Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-henson/) > [If you forget yourself, you become the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakuin-ekaku/if-you-forget-yourself-you-become-the-universe/) [Hakuin Ekaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakuin-ekaku/) > [There is only one proper way to wear a beautiful dress: to forget you are wearing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delphine-de-girardin/there-is-only-one-proper-way-to-wear-a-beautiful-dress-to-forget-you/) [Delphine de Girardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delphine-de-girardin/) > [Literature duplicates the experience of living in a way that nothing else can, drawing you so fully into another life that you temporarily forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/literature-duplicates-the-experience-of-living-in-a-way-that-nothing/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [You're a religious man, ... You believe in God and life after death. I also believe. When we come to the other world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/you-re-a-religious-man-you-believe-in-god-and-life-after-death-i-also/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) ## 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 Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The cure for false theology is motherwit. Forget your books and traditions, and obey your moral perceptions at this hour.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-cure-for-false-theology-is-motherwit-forget-your-books-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-cure-for-false-theology-is-motherwit-forget-your-books-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_the-cure-for-false-theology-is-motherwit_1720842.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_the-cure-for-false-theology-is-motherwit_1720842.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_book_the-cure-for-false-theology-is-motherwit_1720842.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The cure for false theology is motherwit. Forget your books and traditions, and obey your moral perceptions…” — 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": "The cure for false theology is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-cure-for-false-theology-is-motherwit-forget-your-books-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-cure-for-false-theology-is-motherwit-forget-your-books-and/#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 } } ] } ```