Good-bye, proud world! I'm going home: Thou art not my friend, and I'm not thine.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Emerson declares a break from societal expectations, choosing a private life over public approval.
- In plain terms
- I am leaving the world of expectations and going home.
- What can you take from it?
- Choose solitude over social expectation.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What do you gain from stepping away from society?
- When was the last time you rejected the world to find yourself?
Another view
Isolation can lead to disconnection from meaningful community.
More from Ralph Waldo Emerson
The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.
Permalink to quote #156 For what are they all, in their high conceit, When man in the bush with God may meet?
Permalink to quote #158 Every man is wanted and no man is wanted much.
Permalink to quote #155
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