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What Is Well Done, I Feel As If I Did; What Is Ill-done, I Reck Not Of.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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What Is Well Done,

Ralph Waldo Emerson
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What Is Well Done, I Feel As If I Did; What Is Ill-done, I Reck Not Of.

Understanding the Quote: "what is well done, i feel as if i did; what is..."

This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson reflects deeply on the theme of done. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Done, Literature, Ill, 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 done and literature. 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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Topic
Done
Literature
Ill
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It Is One Of The Blessings Of Old Friends That You Can Afford To Be Stupid With Them.
Best Friend
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I Do Not Wish To Remove From My Present Prison To A Prison A Little Larger. I Wish To Break All Prisons.
Wish
Littles
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We Postpone Our Literary Work Until We Have More Ripeness And Skill To Write, And We One Day Discover That Our Literary Talent Wasa Youthful Effervescence Which We Have Now Lost.
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Drinking
Alcohol
World
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Thinking
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Country
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Heart
Men
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Hero
Champion
Trying
The Only Reward Of Virtue Is Virtue.
Inspirational
Rewards
Virtue
Faith Makes Us, And Not We It; And Faith Makes Its Own Forms.
Faith
Form
The Sea Is Masculine, The Type Of Active Strength. Look, What Egg-shells Are Drifting All Over It, Each One, Like Ours, Filled With Men In Ecstasies Of Terror, Alternating With Cockney Conceit, As The Sea Is Rough Or Smooth. Is This Sad-colored Circle An Eternal Cemetery?
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Sea
Circles
There Is A Class Of Persons To Whom By All Spiritual Affinity I Am Bought And Sold; For Them I Will Go To Prison, If Need Be; But Your Miscellaneous Popular Charities; The Education At College Of Fools; The Building Of Meeting-houses To The Vain End To Which Many Now Stand; Alms To Sots; And The Thousandfold Relief Societies; - Though I Confess With Shame I Sometimes Succumb And Give The Dollar, It Is A Wicked Dollar Which By And By I Shall Have The Manhood To Withhold.
Spiritual
College
Class
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World
Sticks
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Design
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The Art Of Sculpture Is Long Ago Perished To Any Real Effect... It Is The Game Of A Rude And Youthful People, And Not The Manly Labour Of A Wise And Spiritual Nation.
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Time
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Sleep
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Three
May
Man Is The End Of Nature; Nothing So Easily Organizes Itself In Every Part Of The Universe As He; No Moss, No Lichen Is So Easilyborn; And He Takes Along With Him And Puts Out From Himself The Whole Apparatus Of Society And Condition Extempore, As An Army Encamps In A Desert, And Where All Was Just Now Blowing Sand, Creates A White City In An Hour, A Government, A Market, A Place For Feasting, For Conversation, And For Love.
Army
Men
Cities
We Want A State Of Things In Which Crime Will Not Pay, A State Of Things Which Allows Every Man The Largest Liberty Compatible With The Liberty Of Every Other Man.
Men
Liberty
Want
In Private Places, Among Sordid Objects, An Act Of Truth Or Heroism Seems At Once To Draw To Itself The Sky As Its Temple, The Sun As Its Cradle. Nature Stretches Out Her Arms To Embrace Man, Only Let His Thoughts Be Of Equal Greatness.
Truth
Greatness
Men
Every Natural Power Exhilarates; A True Talent Delights The Possessor First.
Power
Delight
Firsts
[w]e Pity Our Fathers For Dying Before Steam And Galvanism, Sulphuric Ether And Ocean Telegraphs, Photograph And Spectrograph Arrived, As Cheated Out Of Their Human Estate.
Father
Ocean
Science
There Is Guidance For Each Of Us, And By Lowly Listening We Shall Hear The Right Word.
Listening
Guidance
Right Words
People Destined To Meet Will Do So, Apparently By Chance, At Precisely The Right Moment.
People
Chance
Moments
Speak The Affirmative; Emphasize Your Choice By Utter Ignoring Of All That You Reject.
Optimism
Choices
Speak
People Only See What They Are Prepared To See. If You Look For What Is Good And What You Can Be Grateful For You Will Find It Everywhere.
Gratitude
Grateful
People
There Are Only Ten Minutes In The Life Of A Pear When It Is Perfect To Eat.
Food
Perfect
Cooking
The World When Seen Through A Little Child's Eyes, Greatly Resembles Paradise. Happiness Is Doing With A Smile What You Have To Do Anyway. This Time, Like All Time, Is A Very Good One If We But Know What To Do With It.
Children
Eye
World
The Solid, Solid Universe Is Pervious To Love; With Bandaged Eyes He Never Errs, Around, Below, Above. His Blinding Light He Flingeth White On God's And Satan's Brood, And Reconciles By Mystic Wiles The Evil And The Good.
Life
Eye
Light
I Covet Truth; Beauty Is Unripe Childhood's Cheat; I Leave It Behind With The Games Of Youth.
Games
Childhood
Youth
The Art Of Conversation, Or The Qualification For A Good Companion, Is A Certain Self-control, Which Now Holds The Subject, Now Lets It Go, With A Respect For The Emergencies Of The Moment.
Art
Self
Let It Go
The Universe Is The Externalization Of The Soul.
Soul
Universe
To Aim To Convert A Man By Miracles Is A Profanation Of The Soul. A True Conversion, A True Christ, Is Now, As Always, To Be Madeby The Reception Of Beautiful Sentiments.
Beautiful
Men
Miracle
I Am Ashamed To Think How Easily We Capitulate To Badges And Names, To Large Societies And Dead Institutions.
Thinking
Names
Self Reliance
And Truly It Demands Something Godlike In Him Who Cast Off The Common Motives Of Humanity And Ventured To Trust Himself For A Taskmaster.
Courage
Humanity
Individuality
The Mind Does Not Create What It Perceives, Any More Than The Eye Creates The Rose.
Eye
Rose
Mind
Duty Grows Everywhere--like Children, Like Grass.
Children
Grass
Duty
We Can See Well Into The Past; We Can Guess Shrewdly Into The Future, But That Which Is Rolled Up And Muffled In Impenetrable Folds Is Today.
Future
Past
Optimism
To Fill The Hour; That Is Happiness To Fill The Hour, And Leave No Crevice For A Repentance Or An Approval.
Happiness
Joy
Approval
The Highest Proof Of Civility Is That The Whole Public Action Of The State Is Directed On Securing The Greatest Good Of The Greatest Number.
Numbers
Action
Civility
The Stupidity Of Men Always Invites The Insolence Of Power.
Stupid
Power
Men
The Great Man, That Is, The Man Most Imbued With The Spirit Of The Time, Is The Impressionable Man.
Knowledge
Men
Spirit
It Was High Counsel That I Once Heard Given To A Young Person, 'always Do What You Are Afraid To Do.'
Inspirational
Positive
Success
So All That Is Said Of The Wise Man By Stoic Or Oriental Or Modern Essayist, Describes To Each Reader His Own Idea, Describes His Unattained But Attainable Self.
Wise
Men
Self
Talents Differ; All Is Well And Wisely Put; If I Cannot Carry Forests On My Back, Neither Can You Crack A Nut.
Nuts
Cracks
Forests
There Is An Intimate Interdependence Of Intellect And Morals.
Morality
Intimate
Intellect
Each Moment Of The Year Has Its Own Beauty.
Years
Moments
Nature Beauty
Next To The Originator Of A Good Sentence Is The First Quoter Of It.
Book
Beer
Self Reliance
The Regular Course Of Studies, The Years Of Academical And Professional Education, Have Not Yielded Me Better Facts Than Some Idle Books Under The Bench At The Latin School.
Latin
Book
School
Our Age Is Very Cheap And Intelligible. Unroof Any House, And You Shall Find It. The Well-being Consists In Having A Sufficiency Of Coffee And Toast, With A Daily Newspaper; A Well Glazed Parlor, With Marbles, Mirrors And Centre-table; And The Excitement Of A Few Parties And A Few Rides In A Year.
Party
Coffee
Mirrors
Harmony Of Aim, Not Identity Of Conclusion, Is The Secret Of Sympathetic Life.
Life
Secret
Identity
We Mark With Light In The Memory The Few Interviews We Have Had With Souls That Made Our Souls Wiser, That Spoke What We Thought, That Told Us What We Knew, That Gave Us Leave To Be What We Inly Are.
Memories
Light
Soul
Desire Is Possibility Seeking Expression.
Expression
Desire
Possibility
The Goitre Of Egotism Is So Frequent Among Notable Persons, That We Must Infer Some Strong Necessity In Nature Which It Subserves;such As We See In The Sexual Attraction.
Strong
Sex
Notable
Tis Curious That We Only Believe As Deeply As We Live.
Believe
Hypocrisy
Curious
Let Us Replace Sentimentalism By Realism And Dare To Uncover Those Simple And Terrible Laws Which, Be They Seen Or Unseen, Pervade And Govern.
Simple
Law
Unseen
Every Opinion Reacts On Him Who Utters It.
Statistics
Opinion
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