Quote

“

Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

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An open book and a ceramic tea cup beside a garden window.
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What does this quotation mean?

Emerson urges active thought instead of treating books as unquestionable authorities.

Sources and attribution

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Source: Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson , The American Scholar

Edition: Edna H. L. Turpin selection

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From Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Excerpt checked against the linked public-domain English edition. Korean rendering and context note by Quotations; not an authorized translation. Historical punctuation is retained; line breaks and editorial footnote markers are normalized.

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