remarkable Ralph

I realized yesterday that there is a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote carved into the side of the building that I work in. I have not noticed it before because the block is narrow and the words are large and high, so it is almost impossible to truly appreciate this text because you can never stand back far enough to see it.

As a result of its placement, a substantial tree in the way and not wanting to look stupid- I didnt really get a good look at the quote. So when I got home I went searching for Emerson quotes and didnt find the one on the building, but I found these gems that I just had to share:

"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say."

"The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons."

"Tis the good reader that makes the good book." (or rather Tis the good reader that makes the good blog)

"A friend is one before whom I may think aloud."

"Always do what you are afraid to do."

"The key to every man is his thought. Sturdy and defying though he look, he has a helm which he obeys, which is the idea after which all his facts are classified. He can only be reformed by showing him a new idea which commands his own."

"If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me."

"The ancestor of every action is a thought."

"The next thing to saying a good thing yourself, is to quote one."

and last but not least...

"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)