Who said “Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no…”?

Verified

Ralph Waldo Emerson. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceLetters and Social Aims (1876)

Find Letters and Social Aims on Amazon · paid link

Evidence: Wikiquote · How we check

Source checked · Something wrong? Report a correction

Authors A–Z
“Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
VerifiedLetters and Social Aims (1876) · evidenceWit
Report

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Letters and Social Aims (1876).

APA

Emerson, R. W. (n.d.). Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/42231-wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all/

MLA

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/42231-wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/42231-wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all/.

Related quotes

“There's a hell of a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words.”
— Dorothy Parker
VerifiedInterview, The Paris Review (Summer 1956) · evidenceDetails & citeWit
Report

More quotes by Emerson

All 693 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes →