Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.
Ralph Waldo Emerson Essays: First Series, Self-Reliance (1841)
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When and why it was written
- When
- From Self-Reliance, 1841.
- Why
- Emerson is explaining why he will not live by other people's rules simply because they are old.
What it means
Emerson places honesty with yourself above custom. Integrity here means being whole, not divided against yourself.
A private page is a good place to check whether you are.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
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Essays: First Series, 1841
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