The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful,… - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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About Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (25 May 1803 – 27 April 1882) was an American philosopher, essayist, and poet.

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Also Known As

Alternative Names: R. W. Emerson • Waldo Emerson

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Originators like Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Henry David Thoreau Michel de Montaigne Friedrich Nietzsche Thomas Carlyle

Additional quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am God in nature;
I am a weed by the wall.

I see that sensible men and conscientious men all over the world were of one religion.

Nor knowest thou what argument Thy life to thy neighbor's creed has lent. All are needed by each one; Nothing is fair or good alone.

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived… - Ralph Waldo Emerson

About Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Additional quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson