President Donald Trump Achieved Nothing Great Misquoting Ralph Waldo Emerson In His Tweet

Do you know this quote: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” is NOT by Ralph Waldo Emerson?

Yes, you hear me right.

The unfortunate thing is, it is credited to Ralph Waldo Emerson; practically by everyone and everywhere.

You can find it in all the those established quotation websites (Brainy Quotes, GoodReads, izquotes, Wikiquote, etc), books, magazines and the daily papers.

Even President Donald Trump used or rather wrongly used it in one of his 2014 tweets.

Let’s check out the authentic source of this quote.

I know the line: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” is found in Ralph Waldo’s essay “Circles”.

(Essays, First Series By Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fields, Osgood , & Co., 1869, Essay X. Circles; p.292)

In this book, it did not mention, this particular line was taken from another source.

That could be the reason, why almost every one has erroneously attributed this line to Ralph Waldo Emerson.

But in another book by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Complete Sermons Of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Volume 3”, it cited that this line is by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  (see image below)

(The Complete Sermons of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Volume 3 By Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edited By Ronald A. Bosco, University Of Missouri Press, 1991, Sermon CXIII, Help Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; the faithful fail from among the children of men., Psalms 12:1; p.139)

It says this line is found in “The Statesman’s Manual in The Complete Works Of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.”  And “The quotation is used in “Circles“.

Now, let’s look for it.

You can find the line “…nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” from the book by English poet, literary critic, philosopher and theologian, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

By the way, this book was published way back in 1816.

(The Statesman’s Manual; Or The Bible The Best Guide To Political Skill And Foresight: A Lay Sermon, Addressed To The Higher Classes Of Society, With An Appendix, Containing Comments And Essays, Connected With The Study Of The Inspired Writings By S. T. Coleridge, Esq.Gale And Fenner, 1816; p.27)

(This quote is also found in: The Statesman’s Manual; Or The Bible The Best Guide To Political Skill And Foresight: A Lay Sermon, Addressed To The Higher Classes Of Society, With An Appendix, Containing Comments And Essays, Connected With The Study Of The Inspired Writings By S. T. Coleridge, Esq., Gale And Fenner, Pater-Noster Row, 1816; p.27)

(Another source:The statesman’s manual; or, The Bible The Best Guide To Political Skill And Foresight: A Lay Sermon, Addressed To The Higher Classes By S. T. Coleridge, Esq., Burlington: Chauncey Goodrich, 1832; p.30)

Note: There is a typo error for the word “achieved“. It is printed as “atchieved“.

By the way, there is another quote: “As soon as there is life there is danger”, which is also wrongly attributed to essayist-poet Ralph Waldo Emerson!

You can find more details about this misquote at: Danger Of Misquoting Ralph Waldo Emerson.