Ralph Waldo Emerson：Essays, Excerpt 54

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with the shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day.--"Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood."--Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras[186] was misunderstood, and Socrates,[187] and Jesus, and Luther,[188] and Copernicus,[189] and Galileo,[190] and Newton,[191] and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.

Source： https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16643
Locator：Excerpt 54 · Verified：2026-10-19 · Verification：Short excerpt

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