Henry Fielding? Charles Grandison? Samuel Richardson? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: To avoid a major hardship an individual will sometimes abandon an ethical principle or a close friend. Experiencing a setback reveals a person’s inner strengths and weaknesses. Here are three versions of a pertinent saying:
(1) Adversity is the trial of principle; without it, one hardly knows whether one is an honest person.
(2) Adversity is the trial of principle; without it, a man hardly knows whether he is an honest man.
(3) Adversity is the trial of principle. Without it a man hardly knows whether he is honest or not.
This statement is usually credited to the 19th century English writer Henry Fielding. However, I am skeptical of this attribution because I cannot find a solid citation. Would you please help me to find the correct creator?
Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1753 the prominent English writer Samuel Richardson published an epistolary novel titled “The History of Sir Charles Grandison”. Richardson was responding to the popular and scandalous novel “The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling” by Henry Fielding. Censorious readers believed that Fielding’s main character, Tom Jones, was morally defective.
Richardson’s main character, Sir Charles Grandison, was intended to embody the highest moral principles. A letter from Grandison presented one of his precepts: Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
Adversity is the trial of principle; Without it, a man hardly knows whether he is an honest man.
Thus, the quotation should be credited to Samuel Richardson and not to his literary rival Henry Fielding.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Adversity Is the Trial of Principle; Without It, One Hardly Knows Whether One Is an Honest Person”