Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Heroism requires unique qualities that ordinary life does not possess.
In plain terms
Being a hero is different from being normal.
What can you take from it?
Recognize that heroism is not ordinary behavior.

Where it applies

  • evaluating heroes
  • everyday choices
  • seeking greatness

Putting it to work

  • understanding virtue
  • recognizing exceptional acts
  • self-improvement

Questions to consider

  • What makes someone heroic?
  • Is heroism rare or common?

Another view

Ordinary acts of kindness can also be heroic.

More from Ralph Waldo Emerson

  1. Every man I meet is in some way my superior.

    Permalink to quote #274
  2. Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first quoter of it.

    Permalink to quote #276
  3. Each man is a hero and an oracle to somebody.

    Permalink to quote #273

Related quotes

  1. When the first Superman movie came out, I gave dozens of interviews to promote it. The most frequent question was: What is a hero? My answer was that a hero is…

    Christopher ReeveChristopher Reeve quote #6
  2. If individuals have no virtues, their vices may be of no use to us.

    JuniusJunius quote #16
  3. Even to have come forth is something, since I see that being able to conquer is placed in the hands of fate. However, there was in me, whatever I was able to d…

    Giordano BrunoGiordano Bruno quote #35