I remember an answer which when quite young I was prompted to make to a valued adviser who was wont to importune me with the dear old doctrines of the church. On my saying, What have I to do with the sacredness of traditions, if I live wholly from within? my friend suggested--' But these impulses may be from below, not from above.' I replied, 'They do not seem to me to be such; but if I am the devil's child, I will live them from the devil. Ralph Waldo Emerson
About This Quote

The word "impulse" comes from Latin 'impetus', meaning 'a driving force'. Impulses are the way that your soul or personality more commonly known as your conscience or personality drive you. When you are inspired by the Holy Spirit to do good things, it is an impulse of love and not a force of evil. Sometimes people get confused between impulses and motivations, but there is a difference. Motivations are more of what you want to do, while impulses are more of what you need to do.

Source: Selfreliance And Other Essays

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More Quotes By Ralph Waldo Emerson
  1. Love, and you shall be loved.
  2. He who is in love is wise and is becoming wiser, sees newly every time he looks at the object beloved, drawing from it with his eyes and his mind those virtues which it possesses.
  3. The Artist always has the masters in his eyes.
  4. Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
  5. It is not the length of life, but the depth.
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