"The merit of the greatest thinkers lies precisely in the fact that, regardless of existing books and traditions, they gave expression to what they themselves thought and not to what their predecessors or the people around them thought. Therefore, each of us should listen, watch and grasp those pure thoughts that sometimes flare up and catch fire in a person's consciousness. This inner lightning is of incomparably more importance for all of us than if we were to study the whole constellation of poets and sages.
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Author
Ralph Waldo EmersonAll Translations
All Translations
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The merit of the greatest thinkers lies precisely in the fact that, regardless of existing books and traditions, they gave expression to what they themselves thought and not to what their predecessors or the people around them thought. Therefore, each of us should listen, watch and grasp those pure thoughts that sometimes flare up and catch fire in a person's consciousness. This inner lightning is of incomparably more importance for all of us than if we were to study the whole constellation of poets and sages.
""A legnagyobb gondolkodók érdeme épp abból áll, hogy a meglévő könyvektől és hagyományoktól függetlenül annak adtak kifejezést, amit ők maguk gondoltak és nem annak, amit elődeik vagy a körülöttük élő emberek. Mindegyikünk tehát figyelje, lesse és fogja meg ama tiszta gondolatait, amelyek az ember tudatában időnkint néha felcikáznak és tüzet fognak. Ez a belső villámfény hasonlíthatatlanul nagyobb jelentőségű valamennyiünk számára, mintha a költők s bölcsek egész csillagraját tanulmányozzuk."