Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.
Tags: greatness

Other Quotes by "Ralph Waldo Emerson"

It has come to be practically a sort of rule in literature that a man, having once shown himself capable of original writing, is entitled thenceforth to steal from the writings of others at discretion.
Tags: literature
How casually and unobservedly we make all our most valued acquaintances.
Tags: friendship
Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover.
Tags: forgiveness
A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.
Tags: may, well, friend, nature, friendship
When I first open my eyes upon the morning meadows and look out upon the beautiful world, I thank God I am alive.
Tags: nature, forgiveness
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