The majority of false and harmful opinions are propagated and supported by suggestion.
We are inclined to assimilate the views and thoughts that are shared by the people who live with us, and we do not try to develop them further and deeper. This is the cause of the pettiness of our characters and lives.
A soul yields to the influence of another soul. A human being is completely free only when he is alone.
It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
— Emerson
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers (Psalm 1:1). There is nothing more infectious than an example. Its influence brings into our life deeds that we would never have imagined doing.
Do not yield to the mood of the one who offends you, and do not step onto the path he wants to lead you.
— Marcus Aurelius
A human being can get used to leading the worst of lives, especially if he sees everyone around him living just like him.
I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions.
— Emerson
We can recognize the false notions and harmful sentiments that are disseminated by means of suggestion by the brilliance and grandeur that surrounds them. Truth has no need for pomp.
Suggestion is a necessary condition of social life, but one cannot be too careful in using it intentionally. The power to influence others compels a moral person to be twice as strict with his words and deeds.
