| Ralph Waldo Trine | |
| Birth Date: | 9 September 1866[1] |
| Birth Place: | Mount Morris, Illinois |
| Death Date: | 22 February 1958 |
| Death Place: | 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.
Trine was born in Mount Morris, Illinois to Ellen E. Newcomer and Samuel G. Trine.[1] [2] 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.[2]
Trine married Grace Steele Hyde and they had one son.[2] [3] 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.[2] Trine was also influenced by George Herron's Christian socialism.[4] Trine's spiritual views have been described as being a mixture of Buddhism, pantheism, spiritualism, transcendentalism, Christian socialism, and neo-Vedanta philosophy.[5]
Trine authored In Tune with the Infinite which has remained the most popular publication in the New Thought movement.[6] It was translated into 20 languages.[2] 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".[7] In the 1920s, Trine became associated with Henry Ford and published some of their conversations in The Power that Wins.[2]
Trine lived and worked on a fruit farm in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.[8] [3]
Trine was a vegetarian for ethical reasons and supported animal welfare.[9] His book Every Living Creature called for kindness to animals and advocated a vegetarian diet.[9] [10] He was the director of the American Humane Education Society and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.[1] [3]