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What one has done, all may do.
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“What one has done, all may do.”

Ralph Waldo Trine

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Source
In Tune with the Infinite; or, Fullness of Peace, Power, and Plenty
Date
1897
Meaning

Meaning of “What one has done, all may do.”

Trine presents earlier human attainment as evidence of possibility rather than as a closed privilege, using the claim to encourage readers to regard growth as achievable.

Source context

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In Tune with the Infinite; or, Fullness of Peace, Power, and Plenty, Preface, Project Gutenberg #23559. 'What one has done, all may do' follows Trine's claim that great religious and spiritual figures acted in accordance with a universal law. It remains New Thought-era possibility rhetoric and spiritual philosophy, not empirical evidence that every person can reproduce every achievement regardless of circumstance.

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Ideas connected with this quotation

Confidence Quotes About Ability & Self-TrustEffortGrowthGrowth MindsetHope Quotes About Possibility in Uncertain TimesInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistenceOptimism Quotes About Constructive ExpectationPositive Quotes About a Constructive OutlookSelf ImprovementShort
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“I learned well because I never forgot it. And I learned. Did I not?”

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Voice: Fictional character · Marco Loristan
Meaning & context

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The purpose of life is unquestionably unfoldment, growth, advancement
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I know the goal to high achievement lies through the dull pathway of self-conquest first
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“I know the goal to high achievement lies through the dull pathway of self-conquest first”

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Meaning & context

Achievement is pictured as beginning with less glamorous inward work—self-command, small duties and repeated effort—before larger results become possible.

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What, to our eyes, may seem hopeless failure is often but the dawning of a greater success.
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“What, to our eyes, may seem hopeless failure is often but the dawning of a greater success.”

William George Jordan · The Majesty of Calmness · 1900
Meaning & context

Immediate appearances can mislead: a failure may reveal another direction or become part of later success, so present defeat need not define the whole trajectory.

Source details

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Eagerness for surmounting difficulties and for high attainment is much more frequently found in children than we, judging by our own experience as adults, easily suspect.
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“Eagerness for surmounting difficulties and for high attainment is much more frequently found in children than we, judging by our own experience as adults, easily suspect.”

Maria Montessori · The Montessori Elementary Material · 1917
Meaning & context

Montessori cautions adults against underestimating children’s willingness to engage with challenge, arguing that observed performance can reveal stronger motivation and aptitude than adult assumptions predict.

Source details

The Montessori Elementary Material (1917), Arthur Livingston translation, Part VI, Music, Chapter I, “The Scale,” beginning on printed page 322 and continuing onto page 323, Project Gutenberg #42869. After describing children’s differing interest in bell exercises, Montessori argues that adults often underestimate children’s eagerness for difficulty and high attainment and says actual performance reveals particular aptitude. This remains her historical educational observation rather than a modern validated aptitude test or clinical claim.

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The majority of successful men are persons who have had difficulties to overcome, problems to master; and, in overcoming those difficulties and mastering those problems, they have gained strength of mind and a clearness of vision that few persons who have lived a life of ease have been able to attain.
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“The majority of successful men are persons who have had difficulties to overcome, problems to master; and, in overcoming those difficulties and mastering those problems, they have gained strength of mind and a clearness of vision that few persons who have lived a life of ease have been able to attain.”

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Meaning & context

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Source details

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