Quote
“The one thing in the world of value is the active soul,--the soul, free, sovereign, active.
Explore Purpose

What does this quotation mean?
From The American Scholar of Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Read the surrounding argument as well as the excerpt; its historical language and philosophical assumptions shape its meaning.
Sources and attribution
Verified
Source: Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson , The American Scholar
Edition: Edna H. L. Turpin selection
View reference ↗From Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Excerpt checked against the linked public-domain English edition. Korean rendering and context note by Quotations; not an authorized translation. Historical punctuation is retained; line breaks and editorial footnote markers are normalized.
Suggest an attribution correction ↗