--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We write from aspiration and antagonism…" description: "\"We write from aspiration and antagonism, as well as from experience. We paint those qualities which we do not posses.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_antagonism_we-write-from-aspiration-and-antagonism_677940.png" --- # We write from aspiration and antagonism, as well as from… ![“We write from aspiration and antagonism, as well as from experience. We paint those qualities which we do not posses.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_antagonism_we-write-from-aspiration-and-antagonism_677940.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_antagonism_we-write-from-aspiration-and-antagonism_677940.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_antagonism_we-write-from-aspiration-and-antagonism_677940.png) > “We write from aspiration and antagonism, as well as from experience. We paint those qualities which we do not posses.” [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. We express both our hopes and conflicts, and also imagine qualities we lack, shaping our creative output. **In simple terms:** We write from hope, conflict, and imagined traits. Key Takeaway Recognize and balance aspiration, conflict, and experience in creation. Themes creativity self‑reflection imagination Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - visual art - personal development - team brainstorming Key Concepts psychology identity artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate genuine experience from imagined qualities? - What conflicts drive your creative work? A Different Perspective May overlook authentic self in favor of imagined traits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antagonism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonism/) [Aspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiration/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Their element is to attack, to track, to hunt, and to destroy the enemy. Only in this way can the eager and skillful fighter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-galland/their-element-is-to-attack-to-track-to-hunt-and-to-destroy-the-enemy/) [Adolf Galland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-galland/) > [Our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie, posses however, this distinctive feature; it has simplified the class antagonisms. Society as a whole is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/our-epoch-the-epoch-of-the-bourgeoisie-posses-however-this/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Nature is upheld by antagonism. Passions, resistance, danger, are educators. We acquire the strength we have overcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-is-upheld-by-antagonism-passions-resistance-danger-are/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Though your views are in straight antagonism to theirs, assume an identity of sentiment, assume that you are saying precisely thatwhich all think, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/though-your-views-are-in-straight-antagonism-to-theirs-assume-an/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Nature is upheld by antagonism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-is-upheld-by-antagonism/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [As we refine, our checks become finer. If we rise to spiritual culture, the antagonism takes a spiritual form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/as-we-refine-our-checks-become-finer-if-we-rise-to-spiritual-culture/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [But in every constitution some large degree of animal vigor is necessary as material foundation for the higher qualities of the art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/but-in-every-constitution-some-large-degree-of-animal-vigor-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coolness and absence of heat and haste indicate fine qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coolness-and-absence-of-heat-and-haste-indicate-fine-qualities/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Beans are highly nutritious and satisfying, they can also be delicious if and when properly prepared, and they posses over all vegetables the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-simon/beans-are-highly-nutritious-and-satisfying-they-can-also-be-delicious/) [Andre Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-simon/) > [We do not have many women leaders in the world. But if you look at the current examples, most of those few female leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalia-grybauskaite/we-do-not-have-many-women-leaders-in-the-world-but-if-you-look-at-the/) [Dalia Grybauskaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalia-grybauskaite/) > [An entrepreneur... is a person of action, one who possesses an unnatural overload of two attributes: optimism and determination. Because entrepreneurs are optimistic, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-clifton/an-entrepreneur-is-a-person-of-action-one-who-possesses-an-unnatural/) [Jim Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-clifton/) > [Good motives aside, white condescension does more damage than good. White condescension says to a black child, 'The rules used by other ethnic groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-elder/good-motives-aside-white-condescension-does-more-damage-than-good/) [Larry Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-elder/) > [Thich Nhat Hanh has the ability to bring forth the state of peace that we each inherently posses merely by his presence in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/thich-nhat-hanh-has-the-ability-to-bring-forth-the-state-of-peace/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I still believe that man, not having been given the power of creation, does not posses the right of destroying the meanest creature that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-still-believe-that-man-not-having-been-given-the-power-of-creation/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [You have a heritage honor it. You have posses a testimony share it. You will face temptations withstand it. You know the truth live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/you-have-a-heritage-honor-it-you-have-posses-a-testimony-share-it-you/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) ## 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 Antagonism quotes > [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Countries will cooperate with each other, and are more likely to cooperate with each other when they share a common culture, as is most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/countries-will-cooperate-with-each-other-and-are-more-likely-to/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [On the surface the avant garde as a whole seems united primarily in terms of what they are against: the rejection of social institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-innes/on-the-surface-the-avant-garde-as-a-whole-seems-united-primarily-in/) C. D. Innes > [When someone criticizes or disagrees with you, a small ant of hatred and antagonism is born in your heart. If you do not squash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/when-someone-criticizes-or-disagrees-with-you-a-small-ant-of-hatred/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [No two leaves were alike, and yet there is no antagonism between them or between the branches on which they grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-two-leaves-were-alike-and-yet-there-is-no-antagonism-between-them/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The love of power and the love of liberty are in eternal antagonism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-love-of-power-and-the-love-of-liberty-are-in-eternal-antagonism/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [History shows, in my opinion, that no nation can survive the tension, conflict and antagonism of two competing languages and cultures. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/history-shows-in-my-opinion-that-no-nation-can-survive-the-tension/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [A program of "disarmament," while imperialist antagonisms survive, is the most pernicious of fictions. Even if it were realized by way of general agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/a-program-of-disarmament-while-imperialist-antagonisms-survive-is-the/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [Hey." She said, looking up from an open book propped up on one knee. She brushed a few strands of pale hair out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/hey-she-said-looking-up-from-an-open-book-propped-up-on-one-knee-she/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Hitherto, every form of society has been based ... on the antagonism of oppressing and oppressed classes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/hitherto-every-form-of-society-has-been-based-on-the-antagonism-of/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“If the surprise outcome of the recent UK referendum - on whether to leave or remain in the European Union - teaches us anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-morritt/if-the-surprise-outcome-of-the-recent-uk-referendum-on-whether-to/) [Alex Morritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-morritt/) > [It's not till sex has died out between a man and a woman that they can really love. And now I mean affection. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enid-bagnold/it-s-not-till-sex-has-died-out-between-a-man-and-a-woman-that-they/) [Enid Bagnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enid-bagnold/) > [A blank wall of social and professional antagonism faces the woman physician that forms a situation of singular and painful loneliness, leaving her without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-blackwell/a-blank-wall-of-social-and-professional-antagonism-faces-the-woman/) [Elizabeth Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-blackwell/) > [For someone whose roots in America were strong but only inches deep, and who had no experience, such as a Catholic child might, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/for-someone-whose-roots-in-america-were-strong-but-only-inches-deep/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Fiction, at the point of development at which it has arrived, demands from the writer a spirit of scrupulous abnegation.The only legitimate of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/fiction-at-the-point-of-development-at-which-it-has-arrived-demands/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) [Browse all 140 Antagonism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We write from aspiration and antagonism, as well as from experience. We paint those qualities which we do not posses.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-write-from-aspiration-and-antagonism-as-well-as-from-experience-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antagonism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-write-from-aspiration-and-antagonism-as-well-as-from-experience-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_antagonism_we-write-from-aspiration-and-antagonism_677940.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_antagonism_we-write-from-aspiration-and-antagonism_677940.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_antagonism_we-write-from-aspiration-and-antagonism_677940.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We write from aspiration and antagonism, as well as from experience. We paint those qualities which we do…” — 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": "We write from aspiration and antagonism,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-write-from-aspiration-and-antagonism-as-well-as-from-experience-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-write-from-aspiration-and-antagonism-as-well-as-from-experience-we/#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 } } ] } ```