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Words Are Finite Organs Of The Infinite Mind. They Cannot Cover The Dimensions Of What Is In Truth. They Break, Chop, And Impoverish It.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Words Are Finite Organs

Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Words Are Finite Organs Of The Infinite Mind. They Cannot Cover The Dimensions Of What Is In Truth. They Break, Chop, And Impoverish It.

Understanding the Quote: "words are finite organs of the infinite mind. they cannot cover the..."

This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson reflects deeply on the theme of mind. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Mind, Dimensions, Infinite, 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 mind and dimensions. 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
Mind
Dimensions
Infinite
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I Think I Have Done Well, If I Have Acquired A New Word From A Good Author; And My Business With Him Is To Find My Own, Though Itwere Only To Melt Him Down Into An Epithet Or An Image For Daily Use.
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When We Are Young, We Spend Much Time And Pains In Filling Our Note-books With All Definitions Of Religion, Love, Poetry, Politics, Art, In The Hope That, In The Course Of A Few Years, We Shall Have Condensed Into Our Encyclopaedia The Net Value Of All The Theories At Which The World Has Yet Arrived. But Year After Year Our Tables Get No Completeness, And At Last We Discover That Our Curve Is A Parabola, Whose Arcs Will Never Meet.
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To Map Out A Course Of Action And Follow It To An End Requires Some Of The Same Courage That A Soldier Needs.
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But I Shall Hear Without Pain, That I Play The Courtier Very Ill, And Talk Of That Which I Do Not Well Understand.
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Cut These Words And They Would Bleed; They Are Vascular And Alive.
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It Is A Luxury To Be Understood.
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The Simplest Words,--we Do Not Know What They Mean Except When We Love And Aspire.
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We Estimate The Wisdom Of Nations By Seeing What They Did With Their Surplus Capital.
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The Whole Of What We Know Is A System Of Compensation. Every Defect In One Manner Is Made Up In Another. Every Suffering Is Rewarded; Every Sacrifice Is Made Up; Every Debt Is Paid.
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Debt
The Greater Speed And Success That Distinguish The Planting Of The Human Race In This Country, Over All Other Plantations In History, Owe Themselves Mainly To The New Subdivisions Of The State Into Small Corporations Of Land And Power.
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Country
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Teach The Children! It Is Painting In Fresco.
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Painting
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The Aristocrat Is The Democrat Ripe, And Gone To Seed.
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The Civility Of No Race Can Be Perfect Whilst Another Race Is Degraded. It Is A Doctrine Alike Of The Oldest And Of The Newest Philosophy, That Man Is One, And That You Cannot Injure Any Member, Without A Sympathetic Injury To All The Members
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Society Never Advances. It Recedes As Fast On One Side As It Gains On The Other. Society Acquires New Arts, And Loses Old Instincts.
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Gains
To Go Into Solitude, A Man Needs To Retire As Much From His Chamber As From Society. I Am Not Solitary Whilst I Read And Write, Though Nobody Is With Me. But If A Man Would Be Alone, Let Him Look At The Stars.
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He Needs No Library, For He Has Not Done Thinking; No Church, For He Is Himself A Prophet; No Statute Book, For He Hath The Lawgiver; No Money, For He Is Value Itself; No Road, For He Is At Home Where He Is.
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When A Natural King Becomes A Titular King, Every Body Is Pleased And Satisfied.
Leadership
Kings
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We Are Adapted To Infinity. We Are Hard To Please, And Love Nothing Which Ends: And In Nature Is No End; But Every Thing, At The End Of One Use, Is Lifted Into A Superior, And The Ascent Of These Things Climbs Into Daemonic And Celestial Natures.
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You Can Take Better Care Of Your Secret Than Another Can.
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For What Avail The Plough Or Sail, Or Land Or Life, If Freedom Fail?
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Patriotic
Yet Some Natures Are Too Good To Be Spoiled By Praise, And Wherever The Vein Of Thought Reaches Down Into The Profound, There Is No Danger From Vanity. Solemn Friends Will Warn Them Of The Danger Of The Head's Being Turned By The Flourish Of Trumpets, But They Can Afford To Smile.
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Profound
Veins
The Crowning Fortune Of A Man Is To Be Born To Some Pursuit Which Finds Him Employment And Happiness, Whether It Be To Make Baskets, Or Broadswords, Or Canals, Or Statues, Or Songs.
Life
Positive
Happiness
They Who Talk Much Of Destiny, Their Birth-star, Etc., Are In A Lower Dangerous Plane, And Invite The Evils They Fear.
Stars
Fear
Destiny
Be A Football To Time And Chance, The More Kicks, The Better, So That You Inspect The Whole Game And Know Its Utmost Law.
Football
Law
Games
Great Men Do Not Content Us. It Is Their Solitude, Not Their Force, That Makes Them Conspicuous.
Greatness
Men
Solitude
That Which Dominates Our Imagination And Our Thoughts Will Determine Our Life And Character.
Character
Imagination
Coaching
I Am Not So Foolish As To Declaim Against Forms. Forms Are As Essential As Bodies; But To Exalt Particular Forms, To Adhere To Oneform A Moment After It Is Outgrown, Is Unreasonable, And It Is Alien To The Spirit Of Christ.
Essentials
Body
Spirit
Democracy Is Morose, And Runs To Anarchy.
Running
Historical
Democracy
He Who Is In Love Is Wise And Is Becoming Wiser, Sees Newly Every Time He Looks At The Object Beloved, Drawing From It With His Eyes And His Mind Those Virtues Which It Possesses.
Love
Wise
Philosophy
Every Man Is A Quotation From All His Ancestors.
Men
Heirlooms
Forests
The Maker Of A Sentence Launches Out Into The Infinite And Builds A Road Into Chaos And Old Night, And Is Followed By Those Who Hear Him With Something Of Wild, Creative Delight.
Inspirational
Life
Writing
The Hearing Ear Is Always Found Close To The Speaking Tongue.
Listening
Speech
Hearing
We Do Not Quite Forgive A Giver. The Hand That Feeds Us Is In Some Danger Of Being Bitten. We Can Receive Anything From Love, Forthat Is A Way Of Receiving It From Ourselves; But Not From Any One Who Assumes To Bestow. We Sometimes Hate The Meat Which We Eat, Because There Seems Something Of Degrading Dependence In Living It.
Hate
Hands
Forgiving
A Man's Growth Is Seen In The Successive Choirs Of His Friends.
Friendship
Real Friends
Greatness
Life Is A Boundless Privilege, And When You Pay For Your Ticket, And Get Into The Car, You Have No Guess What Good Company You Shall Find There.
Life
Car
Pay
The Selfish Man Suffers More From His Selfishness Than He From Whom That Selfishness Withholds Some Important Benefit.
Selfish
Men
Suffering
The Influence Of The Senses Have In Men Overpowered The Thought To The Degree That The Walls Of Time And Space Have Come To Look Solid, Real And Insurmountable. .. Yet Time And Space Are But Inverse Measures Of The Power Of The Mind. Man Is Capable Of Abolishing Them Both.
Wall
Real
Men
The Hero Is He Who Is Immovably Centered.
Hero
A Man Should Learn To Detect And Watch That Gleam Of Light Which Flashes Across His Mind From Within, More Than The Luster Of The Firmament Of Bards And Sages
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Light
Self Reliance
This One Fact The World Hates; That The Soul Becomes; For That Forever Degrades The Past, Turns All Riches To Poverty, All Reputation To A Shame, Confounds The Saint With The Rogue, Shoves Jesus And Judas Equally Aside.
Jesus
Hate
Past
The Rage For Road Building Is Beneficent For America, Where Vast Distance Is So Main A Consideration In Our Domestic Politics Andtrade, Inasmuch As The Great Political Promise Of The Invention Is To Hold The Union Staunch, Whose Days Already Seem Numbered By The Mere Inconvenience Of Transporting Representatives, Judges And Officers Across Such Tedious Distances Of Land And Water.
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Land
America
As We Refine, Our Checks Become Finer. If We Rise To Spiritual Culture, The Antagonism Takes A Spiritual Form.
Spiritual
Culture
Checks
Nobody Is Glad In The Gladness Of Another, And Our System Is One Of War, Of An Injurious Superiority. Every Child Of The Saxon Race Is Educated To Wish To Be First. It Is Our System; And A Man Comes To Measure His Greatness By The Regrets, Envies, And Hatreds Of His Competitors.
Children
Regret
War
The Secret Of Success Lies Never In The Amount Of Money, But In The Relation Of Income To Outgo.
Success
Money
Lying
People Are Timid And Apologetic; They Are No Longer Upright; They Dare Not Say "i Think," "i Am," But Quote Some Saint Or Sage. They Are Ashamed Before The Blade Of Grass Or The Blowing Rose. These Roses Under My Window Make No Reference To Former Roses Or To Better Ones; They Are For What They Are; They Exist With God To-day.
Confidence
Thinking
People
And What Greater Calamity Can Fall Upon A Nation Than The Loss Of Worship.
Fall
Loss
Worship
What We Have Learned From Other Becomes Our Own Reflection.
Education
School
Reflection
I Am So Much A Unitarian As This: That I Believe The Human Mind Can Admit But One God, And That Every Effort To Pay Religious Homage To More Than One Being Goes To Take Away All Right Ideas.
God
Religious
Believe
The Martyr Cannot Be Dishonored. Every Lash Inflicted Is A Tongue Of Fame; Every Prison A More Illustrious Abode.
Tongue
Prison
Fame
A Man In Debt Is So Far A Slave.
Men
Debt
Slave
A Man Must Consider What A Blindman's-buff Is This Game Of Conformity.
Men
Games
Self Reliance
Divine Persons Are Character Born, Or, To Borrow A Phrase From Napoleon, They Are Victory Organized.
Leadership
Character
Victory
Every Really Able Man, In Whatever Direction He Works - A Man Of Large Affairs, An Inventor, A Statesman, An Orator, A Poet, A Painter - If You Talk Sincerely With Him, Considers His Work, However Much Admired, As Far Short Of What It Should Be. What Is This Better, This Flying Ideal, But The Perpetual Promise Of His Creator?
Inspiration
Creativity
Men
Our Age Is Retrospective. It Builds The Sepulchres Of The Fathers. It Writes Biographies, Histories And Criticism.
Father
Writing
Self Reliance
Every Man Passes His Life In The Search After Friendship.
Friendship
Real
Men
All Natural Objects Make A Kindred Impression, When The Mind Is Open To Their Influence.
Mind
Influence
Natural
What School, College, Or Lecture Bring Men Depends On What Men Bring To Carry It Home In.
Home
School
College
The History Of The Genesis Or The Old Mythology Repeats Itself In The Experience Of Every Child. He Too Is A Demon Or God Thrown Into A Particular Chaos, Where He Strives Ever To Lead Things From Disorder Into Order.
Children
Order
Chaos
Little Thinks, In The Field, Yon Red-cloaked Clown, Of Thee, From The Hill-top Looking Down; And The Heifer, That Lows In The Upland Farm, Far-heard, Lows Not Thine Ear To Charm; The Sexton Tolling The Bell At Noon, Dreams Not That Great Napoleon Sto
Dream
Thinking
Agriculture
Some Of The Sweetest Hours In Life, In Retrospect Will Be Found To Have Been Spent With Books.
Book
Retrospect
Hours
One Of The Illusions Of Life Is That The Present Hour Is Not The Critical Decisive Hour. Write It On Your Heart That Every Day Is The Best Day Of The Year. He Only Is Right Who Owns The Day, And No One Owns The Day Who Allows It To Be Invaded By Worry, Fret And Anxiety. Finish Every Day, And Be Done With It. You Have Done What You Could.
Writing
Heart
Years
The Persons Who Constitute The Natural Aristocracy, Are Not Found In The Actual Aristocracy, Or, Only On Its Edge; As The Chemicalenergy Of The Spectrum Is Found To Be Greatest Just Outside Of The Spectrum.
Character
Aristocracy
Natural
The Most Indian Thing About The Indian Is Surely Not His Moccasins Or His Calumet, His Wampum Or His Stone Hatched, But Traits Of Character And Sagacity, Skill, Or Passion.
Passion
Native American
Character
When He Has Seen, That It Is Not His, Nor Any Man's, But It Is The Soul Which Made The World, And That It Is All Accessible To Him, He Will Know That He, As Its Minister, May Rightfully Hold All Things Subordinate And Answerable To It.
Men
Soul
World
Europe Extends To The Alleghenies; America Lies Beyond.
Lying
Europe
America
If I Could Put My Hand On The North Star, Would It Be As Beautiful? The Sea Is Lovely, But When We Bathe In It The Beauty Forsakesall The Near Water. For The Imagination And Senses Cannot Be Gratified At The Same Time.
Beautiful
Stars
Hands
On Bravely Through The Sunshine And The Showers! Time Hath His Work To Do, And We Have Ours.
Work
Sunshine
Showers
We Sometimes Observe That Spoiled Children Contract A Habit Of Annoying Quite Wantonly Those Who Have Charge Of Them, And Seem Tomeasure Their Own Sense Of Well-being, Not By What They Do, But By The Degree Of Reaction They Can Cause. It Is Vain To Get Rid Of Them By Not Minding Them: If Purring And Humming Is Not Noticed, They Squeal And Screech; Then If You Chide And Console Them, They Find The Experiment Succeeds, And They Begin Again. The Child Will Sit In Your Arms Contented If You Do Nothing. If You Take A Book And Read, He Commences Hostile Operations.
Children
Book
Arms
The Poorest Experience Is Rich Enough For All The Purposes Of Expressing Thought
Purpose
Rich
Enough
Character Is Higher Than Intellect... A Great Soul Will Be Strong To Live, As Well As Strong To Think.
Inspirational
Strength
Success
The Secret Of The World Is The Tie Between Person And Event. Person Makes Event And Event Person.
Ties
Secret
Events
If I Should Go Out Of Church Whenever I Hear A False Sentiment, I Could Never Stay There Five Minutes.
Atheist
Church
Minutes
When A Man Becomes Cultivated, He Develops A New Respect For Who He Is. This Causes Him To Be Ashamed Of His Past Identification Of Himself And Others According To Things, I.e. Property.
Past
Men
Causes
Great Hearts Steadily Send Forth The Secret Forces That Incessantly Draw Great Events.
Positive
Heart
Law Of Attraction
I Suppose You Could Never Explain To The Most Ingenous Molusk That Such A Creature As A Whale Existed.
Whales
Creatures
I Would Put Myself In The Attitude To Look In The Eye An Abstract Truth, And I Cannot. I Blench And Withdraw On This Side And On That. I Seem To Know What He Meant Who Said, No Man Can See God Face To Face And Live.
Attitude
Fear
Eye
Thoughts Come Into Our Minds By Avenues Which We Never Left Open, And Thoughts Go Out Of Our Minds Through Avenues Which We Never Voluntarily Opened.
Feel Good
Mind
Avenues
If We Encounter A Man Of Rare Intellect, We Should Ask Him What Books He Reads.
Education
Wisdom
Book
Make Yourself Necessary To The World, And Mankind Will Give You Bread.
What Matters
Giving
World
A Wise Writer Will Feel That The Ends Of Study And Composition Are Best Answered By Announcing Undiscovered Regions Of Thought, And So Communicating, Through Hope, New Activity To The Torpid Spirit.
Wise
Spirit
Study
Solitude Is Naught And Society Is Naught. Alternate Them And The Good Of Each Is Seen.
Solitude
Every Man Is A Consumer, And Ought To Be A Producer. He Is By Constitution Expensive, And Needs To Be Rich.
Men
Vaccines
Needs
The Eloquent Man Is He Who Is No Beautiful Speaker, But Who Is Inwardly And Desperately Drunk With A Certain Belief.
Inspirational
Beautiful
Men
Some Will Always Be Above Others.
Cities Degrade Us By Magnifying Trifles.
Cities
Trifles
Magnifying
And Of Poetry, The Success Is Not Attained When It Lulls And Satisfies, But When It Astonishes And Fires Us With New Endeavours After The Unattainable.
Fire
Poetry
Unattainable
By The Rude Bridge That Arched The Flood, Their Flag To April's Breeze Unfurled, Here Once The Embattled Farmers Stood, And Fired The Shot Heard Round The World.
Bridges
America
Rude
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