Yet a man may love a paradox, without losing either his wit or his honesty.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Emerson suggests that one can appreciate contradictions without compromising clarity or integrity.
- In plain terms
- You can enjoy complex ideas without losing your honesty.
- What can you take from it?
- Embrace complexity without sacrificing truth.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When have you held two opposing ideas at once?
- Is honesty always compatible with complexity?
Another view
Paradoxes can sometimes confuse rather than clarify understanding.
More from Ralph Waldo Emerson
I fancy I need more than another to speak (rather than write), with such a formidable tendency to the lapidary style. I build my house of boulders.
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