“The world's a wood, in which all lose their way,
Though by a different path each goes astray.”

— George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

"A Satyr upon the Follies of the Men of the Age", line 109; cited from The Works of His Grace, George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham (London: T. Evans, 1770) vol. 2, p. 156

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George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham 20

English statesman and poet 1628–1687

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“There seemed to be no end to this wood, and no beginning, and no difference in it, and, worse of all, no way out”

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“To a greater power and to a better nature you, free, are subject, and that creates the mind in you which the heavens have not in their charge. Therefore if the present world goes astray, in you is the cause, in you let it be sought.”

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“Never follow anyone else's path, unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path. Then by all means follow that path.”

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Variant: Follow your passion. Stay true to yourself. Never follow someone else's path unless you're in the woods and you're lost and you see a path. By all means, you should follow that.

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“Variation: If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, though he builds his house in the woods the world will make a beaten path to his door.”

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Investigations have failed to confirm this in Emerson's writings (John H. Lienhard. "A better moustrap" http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1163.htm, Engines of our Ingenuity). Also reported as a misattribution in Paul F. Boller, Jr., and John George, They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, & Misleading Attributions (1989), p. 25. Note that Emerson did say, as noted above, "I trust a good deal to common fame, as we all must. If a man has good corn, or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods".
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“The world's a wood, in which all lose their way,Though by a different path each goes astray.”

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“The world's a wood, in which all lose their way,
Though by a different path each goes astray.”