A Literal Mystery

Dec 08, 2004 16:17


Did You Know?

Ralph Waldo Emerson is often credited with the following quote:

Success:  To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.  This is to have succeeded!  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Now, read this quotation:

That man is successful who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of the intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.  ~Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

Odd how closely  these resemble each other. But who is the true author? Apparently, no one from either the Emerson or Steveson society will authenticate the work of their respected writers.  read this

One person went so far as to write this -

"trite and prosaic to an embarrassing degree. If one is willing to attribute these grotesque lines to such a lofty writer as Emerson, one would have to account for this tremendous decline in his literary gifts and inspiration. Just to illustrate: Emerson could never have indulged in such a clumsy verse as: "to leave the world a bit better." One does not have to be a T.S. Eliot to realize that the poem is ... not by Emerson."

Even funnier is the fact that others have also been credited with versions of this poem. A January 1989 "Wellness Letter" from U.C. @Berkeley credited Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969). And The Random House Webster's Quotationary, (1999), credits Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915).

The real story?

Two sources have come forward and stated that a relative of theirs (Grandmother) had submitted and won a contest with the following poem:

Success
He has achieved success
    who has lived well,
    laughed often, and loved much;
who has enjoyed the trust of pure women,
    the respect of intelligent men
    and the love of little children;
who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
who has left the world better than he found it
    whether by an improved poppy,
    a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty
    or failed to express it;
who has always looked for the best in others
    and given them the best he had;
whose life was an inspiration;
whose memory a benediction.

One claim is that in 1905 Bessie A. Stanley was the first-prize winner in a contest sponsored by the magazine Modern Women. Another says Bessie Stanley's piece was the winning entry in a contest run by Brown Book Magazine in 1904."

However, A book entitled "Heart Throbs"Volume II was published in 1911, and does contain this poem....unfortunately, the author is listed as anon(ymous).

So will we ever know this enduring mystery of literature? Will time ever tell? Why does a poem about success mean so much to people? I have two quotes of my own I like to read about success.

There is only one success . . . to be able to spend your life in your own way, and not give others absurd maddening claims upon it. ~ Christopher Morley

Perhaps this one is a more lighter example of success:

At age 4, success is...not peeing in your pants.
  At age 12, success is...having friends.
    At age 16, success is...having a driver's license.
      At age 20, success is...having sex.
        At age 35, success is...having money.
          At age 40, success is...finding meaning & purpose to life.
          At age 45, success is...finding meaning & purpose to life.
        At age 50, success is...having money.
      At age 60, success is...having sex.
    At age 70, success is...having a driver's license.
  At age 75, success is...having friends.
At age 80, success is...not peeing in your pants.

Previous post Next post
Up