Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Book ·53 of 348
"Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
They never said that.
What people say
"Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
What was actually said
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson — "Self-Reliance" (1841)
Why it stuck
Emerson's adjective matters: he defends reasoned consistency, attacks only the foolish kind. Drop "foolish" and the quote praises changeability for its own sake.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.