Two brass weights balance on a wooden beam, with a small paper crown perched on one.

Original artwork, not a still

Ralph Waldo Emerson

We do what we must, and call it by the best names.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

People act from necessity, then dress the choice in flattering language. The line suggests that the labels we attach to our actions often lend them dignity they may not have earned, turning what was unavoidable, or merely convenient, into something that sounds principled and admirable.

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