Bessie Anderson Stanley

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Bessie Anderson Stanley is the author of a quote often incorrectly misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Her quote, written in 1904, reads:

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 an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; 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.