Self-Reliance: Misunderstood Greatness The quote that most provoked thought and emotion from within me comes from the essay "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. "To be great is to be misunderstood" was used by Emerson to explain the lagging growth of the conception of ideas and thoughts of his generation. Original and novel ideas were scorned by conservatives who believed the best method for learning was by repetition and memorization of proven classics written by previous …showed first 75 words of 453 total…

…showed last 75 words of 453 total…