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Vivacity, Leadership, Must Be Had, And We Are Not Allowed To Be Nice In Choosing. We Must Fetch The Pump With Dirty Water, If Clean Cannot Be Had.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Vivacity, Leadership, Must Be

Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Vivacity, Leadership, Must Be Had, And We Are Not Allowed To Be Nice In Choosing. We Must Fetch The Pump With Dirty Water, If Clean Cannot Be Had.

Understanding the Quote: "vivacity, leadership, must be had, and we are not allowed to be..."

This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson reflects deeply on the theme of leadership. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Leadership, Nice, Dirty, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Ralph Waldo Emerson interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson is celebrated for insightful thoughts on leadership and nice. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Leadership
Nice
Dirty
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Men
America
I Suffer Whenever I See That Common Sight Of A Parent Or Senior Imposing His Opinion And Way Of Thinking And Being On A Young Soul To Which They Are Totally Unfit. Cannot We Let People Be Themselves, And Enjoy Life In Their Own Way? You Are Trying To Make That Man Another You. One's Enough.
Senior
Men
Thinking
The Mystic Must Be Steadily Told,-all That You Say Is Just As True Without The Tedious Use Of That Symbol As With It. Let Us Have A Little Algebra, Instead Of This Trite Rhetoric,-universal Signs, Instead Of These Village Symbols,-and We Shall Both Be Gainers. The History Of Hierarchies Seems To Show That All Religious Error Consisted In Making The Symbol Too Stark And Solid, And Was At Last Nothing But An Excess Of The Organ Of Language.
Religious
Errors
Excess
A Foolish Consistency Is The Hobgoblin Of Little Minds, Adored By Little Statesmen And Philosophers And Divines. With Consistency A Great Soul Has Simply Nothing To Do. He May As Well Concern Himself With His Shadow On The Wall. Speak What You Think Now In Hard Words And To-morrow Speak What To-morrow Thinks In Hard Words Again, Though It Contradict Every Thing You Said To-day.
Wall
Thinking
Consistency
The Secret Of Success Lies Never In The Amount Of Money, But In The Relation Of Income To Outgo.
Success
Money
Lying
Line In Nature Is Not Found; Unit And Universe Are Round.
Nature
Science
Lines
Away With This Hurrah Of Masses, And Let Us Have The Considerate Vote Of Single Men.
Men
Crowds
Vote
The Mark Of The Man Of The World Is Absence Of Pretension. He Does Not Make A Speech; He Takes A Low Business-tone, Avoids All Brag, Is Nobody, Dresses Plainly, Promises Not At All, Performs Much, Speaks In Monosyllables, Hugs His Fact.
Business
Men
Hug
What I Must Do Is All That Concerns Me, Not What People Think. This Rule,equally Arduous In Actual And Intellectual Life, May Serve For The Whole Distinction Between Greatness And Meanness. It Is The Harder, Because You Will Always Find Those Who Think They Know What Is Your Duty Better Than You Know It. It Is Easy In The World To Live After The World's Opinion; It Is Easy In Solitude To Live After Our Own; But The Great Man Is He Who In The Midst Of The Crowd Keeps With Perfect Sweetness The Independence Of Solitude.
Learning
Greatness
Men
Great Causes Are Never Tried On Their Merits; But The Cause Is Reduced To Particulars To Suit The Size Of The Partizans, And The Contention Is Ever Hottest On Minor Matters.
Matter
Suits
Causes
The Soul Contains The Event That Shall Befall It, For The Event Is Only The Actualization Of Its Thoughts; And What We Pray To Ourselves For Is Always Granted.
Soul
Events
Praying
I Appeal Now To The Convictions Of The Communicants, And Ask Such Persons Whether They Have Not Been Occasionally Conscious Of A Painful Confusion Of Thought Between The Worship Due To God And The Commemoration Due To Christ.
Confusion
Worship
Painful
We Must Set Up A Strong Present Tense Against All Rumors Of Wrath, Past And To Come.
Strong
Past
Wrath
We Do Not Yet Trust The Unknown Power Of Thoughts.
Trust
Power Of Thought
Intellectual Tasting Of Life Will Not Supersede Muscular Activity. If A Man Should Consider The Nicety Of The Passage Of A Piece Of Bread Down His Throat, He Would Starve.
Men
Intellectual
Bread
When I Was Praised I Lost My Time, For Instantly I Turned Around To Look At The Work I Had Thought Slightly Of, And That Day I Made Nothing New.
New Day
Looks
Praise
Every Ship Is A Romantic Object, Except That We Sail In.
Romance
Ships
Sail
Thefts Never Enrich; Alms Never Impoverish; Murder Will Speak Out Of Stone Walls. The Least Admixture Of A Lie-for Example, The Taint Of Vanity, The Least Attempt To Make A Good Impression, A Favorable Appearance-will Instantly Vitiate The Effect.
Wall
Honesty
Lying
Enlarge Not Thy Destiny, Said The Oracle: Endeavor Not To Do More Than Is Given Thee In Charge.
Destiny
Oracles
Said
The Secret Of Education Lies In Respecting The Pupil. It Is Not For You To Choose What He Shall Know, What He Shall Do. It Is Chosen And Foreordained And He Only Holds The Key To His Own Secret.
Inspiring
Education
Lying
A Man's Fortunes Are The Fruit Of His Character. A Man's Friends Are His Magnetisms.
Friends
Character
Fate
There Is One Mind Common To All Individual Men. Every Man Is An Inlet To The Same And To All Of The Same. He That Is Once Admitted To The Right Of Reason Is Made A Freeman Of The Whole Estate. What Plato Has Thought, He May Think; What A Saint Has Felt, He May Feel; What At Any Time Has Befallen Any Man, He Can Understand. Who Hath Access To This Universal Mind Is A Party To All That Is Or Can Be Done, For This Is The Only And Sovereign Agent
Plato
Party
Men
Walking Has The Best Value As Gymnastics Of The Mind.
Gymnastics
Mind
Walking
There Is An Intimate Interdependence Of Intellect And Morals.
Morality
Intimate
Intellect
The People Are To Be Taken In Very Small Doses.
Taken
People
Public Speaking
Observe How Every Truth And Every Error, Each A Thought Of Someone's Mind, Clothes Itself With Societies, Houses, Cities, Language, Ceremonies, Newspapers
Errors
Cities
Clothes
Beauty Without Grace Is The Hook Without The Bait.
Beauty
Grace
Bait
A Woman Should Always Challenge Our Respect, And Never Move Our Compassion.
Respect
Moving
Compassion
The People Know That They Need In Their Representative Much More Than Talent, Namely, The Power To Make His Talent Trusted.
Power
People
Needs
Art Is A Jealous Mistress; And If A Man Have A Genius For Painting, Poetry, Music, Architecture Or Philosophy, He Makes A Bad Husband And An Ill Provider.
Music
Art
Husband
He, Who Loves The Bristle Of Bayonets, Only Sees In Their Glitter What Beforehand He Feels In His Hand.
War
Hands
Bayonets
Fashion, Though In A Strange Way, Represents All Manly Virtue. It Is Virtue Gone To Seed: It Is A Kind Of Posthumous Honor. It Does Not Often Caress The Great, But The Children Of The Great: It Is A Hall Of The Past.
Fashion
Children
Past
Why Should We Be Cowed By The Name Of Action?.
Names
Action
Should
Are You Not Scared By Seeing That The Gypsies Are More Attractive To Us Than The Apostles?
Scared
Gypsy
Attractive
We Grant No Dukedoms To The Few, We Hold Like Rights And Shall; Equal On Sunday In The Pew, On Monday In The Mall. For What Avail The Plough Or Sail, Or Land, Or Life, If Freedom Fail?
Monday
Freedom
Sunday
Astronomy To The Selfish Becomes Astrology.
Selfish
Anatomy And Physiology
Astrology
The Cannon Will Not Suffer Any Other Sound To Be Heard For Miles And For Years Around It.
Years
Suffering
Sound
The Have A Good Friend Is One Of The Greatest Delights Of Life.
Good Friend
Delight
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