Original artwork, not a still
Essays: Second Series, New England Reformers · 1844
The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Emerson says the reward for good work is not applause or pay but having done it, a quiet idea that fits craftspeople, athletes and anyone tempted to work only for credit. The line is easy to carry around because it ends on its own answer. It turns up in graduations, retirement cards and the walls of workshops.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Essays: Second Series, New England ReformersShow the scene
The line comes from "New England Reformers", the closing essay of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Essays: Second Series (1844). Emerson is describing how the moral order of the world rewards honest work whatever the worker's rank or pay. He puts a speech in the mouth of that order itself, telling a man to work in every hour, paid or unpaid, planting corn or writing epics, so long as it is honest work done to his own approval. The sentence about a thing well done is the last of that speech.
Sources (1)
- Wikisource: Essays: Second Series / New England ReformersPassage on the order of things rewarding actions after their natureReference checked
Context reviewed
