This page is intended to be an aid to those who have queries about Emerson and to give answers to Frequently Asked Questions or FAQs. It is not meant to discourage direct queries to the advisors on the site, just to give answers to questions we get all the time. Hope this helps.

Q. I can't find Emerson's famous quote about Success. Can you help.
A. The most frequent request about Success is a passage wrongly attributed to RWE. It begins:
        "To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; etc.,
        Please go to http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/emerson/ and click on "Success" for the complete story.

Q. Can you tell me the source of the quote "What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

A. This quote is often attributed to Emerson, especially on the Internet. However, it does not appear in the Complete Works, nor in the Complete Journals. Various Internet sites (search Google) reveal both Henry Thoreau and Oliver Wendell Holmes as sources, although the sites do not list any sources. The best solution at present is NOT to attribute the quote to Emerson.

Q. I see that Emerson said "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," but I thught Coleridge said that. What's right?

A. In Emerson's Journal for February, 1835, Emerson himself gives the quote to Coleridge and gives the reference to "The Statesman's Manual." However, he used the quote in "Circles" without attribution, which was often the case with writers at the time. We now attribute the quote to Emerson.

Q. I have an old book of Emerson's essays [some with leather binding] that is dated sometime between 1888 and 1910. Is it valuable?
A. Probably not. Many many new editions of Emerson's essays were published in great quantities after his death, some with dates supplied, some not. Very few have a value of more than $30. If you think you have a book published in Emerson's lifetime by James Munroe & Co., Boston, you probably have a valuable book. And of course, any book with an inscription by Emerson will have great value. Otherwise, we suggest you check on abebooks.com to see if your title is listed there and how similar books are priced.

Q. I can't find a passage from the essays or poems on the site. The search process brings up too many results to search through. How do I narrow my search?

A. Click on the "GO" Search button and then on the search page, click on "Exact Phrase" before typing in the words or phrase you want. This will narrow your choice down to essentials. If you still cannot find the passage, it may be that the quote is not Emerson's or that it comes from his Journals and Notebooks, which are, as yet, not on the Internet. We are working to correct that lapse and hope to have results soon.