Ralph Waldo Trine

Ralph Waldo Trine
Born 9 September 1866
Mount Morris, Illinois
Died 22 February 1958
Claremont, California
Occupation Writer
Spouse Grace Steele Hyde Trine

Ralph Waldo Trine (9 September 1866 – 22 February 1958) was an American New Thought writer, philosopher and animal welfare activist.

Biography

Trine was born in Mount Morris, Illinois to Ellen E. Newcomer and Samuel G. Trine. He was educated at Knox College where he graduated A.B. in 1891. He studied history and political science at Johns Hopkins University and obtained his A.M. from Knox College in 1893.

Trine married Grace Steele Hyde and they had one son. As a young man he worked as a correspondent for the Boston Evening Transcript. During this time he became influenced by the idealistic philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Trine was also influenced by George Herron's Christian socialism. Trine's spiritual views have been described as being a mixture of Buddhism, pantheism, spiritualism, transcendentalism, Christian socialism, and neo-Vedanta philosophy.

Trine authored In Tune with the Infinite which has remained the most popular publication in the New Thought movement. It was translated into 20 languages. Unlike most other New Thought writers, Trine did not resort to mental money making advice and has been described as "one of the rare purists whose books were guileless optimism". In the 1920s, Trine became associated with Henry Ford and published some of their conversations in The Power that Wins.

Trine lived and worked on a fruit farm in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.

Animal welfare

Trine was a vegetarian for ethical reasons and supported animal welfare. His book Every Living Creature called for kindness to animals and advocated a vegetarian diet. He was the director of the American Humane Education Society and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Selected publications