Quote

“

But all the good of nature is the soul's, and may be had, if paid for in nature's lawful coin, that is, by labor which the heart and the head allow.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Explore Purpose

A stone footpath climbing through misty mountains at sunrise.
AI-generated editorial illustration · Quotations
Sign in to save ♡

What does this quotation mean?

From Compensation 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 , Compensation

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 ↗

Keep exploring