There is a mortifying experience in particular, which does not fail to wreak itself also in the general history; I mean "the foolish face of praise," the forced smile which we put on in company where we do not feel at ease, in answer to conversation which does not interest us. The muscles, not spontaneously moved but moved, by a low usurping wilfulness, grow tight about the outline of the face, with the most disagreeable sensation.


Emerson: A Modern Anthology (ed. 1959)

Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

There is a mortifying experience in particular, which does not fail to wreak itself also in the general history; I mean the foolish face of praise,...

There is a mortifying experience in particular, which does not fail to wreak itself also in the general history; I mean the foolish face of praise,...

There is a mortifying experience in particular, which does not fail to wreak itself also in the general history; I mean the foolish face of praise,...

There is a mortifying experience in particular, which does not fail to wreak itself also in the general history; I mean the foolish face of praise,...