A Foolish Consistency Is The Hobgoblin

This line comes from Self-Reliance (1841), one of Emerson's most celebrated essays and the cornerstone of his Transcendentalist philosophy. The full passage continues: "adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." Emerson's point is that changing one's mind in response to new evidence is not inconsistency but intellectual integrity; only those incapable of growth cling rigidly to their former positions. Walt Whitman, deeply influenced by Emerson, echoed this in Song of Myself: "Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself."