Tis the old secret of the gods that they come in low disguises. 'Tis the vulgar great who come dizened with gold and jewels. Real kings hide away their crowns in their wardrobes, and affect a plain and poor exterior.
Ralph Waldo EmersonGreat country, diminutive minds. America is formless, has no terrible and no beautiful condensation.
Ralph Waldo EmersonClassics which at home are drowsily read have a strange charm in a country inn, or in the transom of a merchant brig.
Ralph Waldo EmersonSociety is an illusion to the young citizen. It lies before him in rigid repose, with certain names, men, and institutions, rootedlike oak-trees to the centre, round which all arrange themselves the best they can. But the old statesman knows that society is fluid; there are no such roots and centres; but any particle may suddenly become the centre of the movement, and compel the system to gyrate round it, as every man of strong will, like Pisistratus, or Cromwell, does for a time, and every man of truth, like Plato, or Paul, does forever.
Ralph Waldo Emerson