The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence. Nature never wears a mean appearance. Neither does the wisest man extort her secret, and lose his curiosity by finding out all her perfection. Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood.
Ralph Waldo EmersonGenius seems to consist merely in trueness of sight, in using such words as show that the man was an eye-witness, and not a repeater of what was told.
Ralph Waldo EmersonMeek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon, have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries, when they wrote these books.
Ralph Waldo EmersonThere is a good ear, in some men, that draws supplies to virtue out of very indifferent nutriment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson