{"title":"Not to Have Tried — Woodberry","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"not-to-have-tried-woodberry-heretics-t-shirt","title":"Not to Have Tried — Woodberry Organic Tee","description":"\u003cp\u003eA black organic cotton literary quote t-shirt featuring George Edward Woodberry’s “Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.” — verified from the primary source. Garment-dyed literary apparel by Quoteiac.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWendell Phillips spent forty years being pelted with rotten eggs in public halls — threatened, shouted down, called a traitor. He kept going back. George Woodberry watched that life and wrote something that wasn't advice. It was a verdict.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGeorge Edward Woodberry\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Woodberry's \u003cem\u003eWendell Phillips: The Faith of an American\u003c\/em\u003e (1912), pp. 44–45. Verified from the primary source.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWoodberry wrote those words at the close of a biography of an abolitionist orator who never held office, never won a seat, never had the power he was asking others to use — and never stopped. The sentence doesn't say \u003cem\u003etry and you'll succeed\u003c\/em\u003e. It says the trial itself is what places you. Failure and non-attempt are not the same category. One is an outcome. The other is a choice made before the thing begins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat distinction matters more now than it did in 1912. We've built entire ecosystems of preparation, research, and planning that let the non-attempt feel responsible. Woodberry named it anyway: not the worst — the \u003cem\u003etrue\u003c\/em\u003e failure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Ensō\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA hand-brushed gold-and-copper \u003cem\u003eensō\u003c\/em\u003e, open at the bottom center — the gap sits at six o'clock, where the stroke tapers and lifts without closing. It doesn't close on purpose: in the ensō tradition, the open circle is the complete one — the attempt is the form, not the finished shape. Both sentences of the quote sit inside the circle in italic serif, centered; below them, smaller and quiet, the name George Woodberry. The circle holds everything — the verdict, and the space where the gap lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eOrganic Cotton That Can Handle Reps\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCut from \u003cstrong\u003e100% GOTS-certified organic ring-spun cotton\u003c\/strong\u003e, because trying shouldn't feel disposable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNo synthetic pesticides\u003c\/strong\u003e — better for the soil and the people who grow it\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRing-spun fibers\u003c\/strong\u003e — softer and stronger than standard cotton\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGarment-dyed finish\u003c\/strong\u003e — washed after sewing for a lived-in feel on day one\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e5.6 oz weight\u003c\/strong\u003e — substantial, drapes well, breathable enough to layer\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e100% organic ring-spun cotton (GOTS certified)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFabric weight: 5.6 oz\/yd² (190 g\/m²)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGarment-dyed, vintage-wash finish — black\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRelaxed unisex fit; \u003cstrong\u003eruns generous — if you're between sizes, size down\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSet-in sleeves, ribbed collar, side-seamed construction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePre-shrunk; machine wash cold, tumble dry low\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQuoteiac logo on the left sleeve\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWho It's For\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe person who has already tried and knows what that cost — and is deciding whether to go again. Not the idealist standing at the edge; the one who has been to the edge, saw what was there, and is sitting with Woodberry's verdict: the only real failure is the one you manufacture before you begin. Also for anyone who reads biography the way other people read instruction manuals. Wendell Phillips wasn't a saint or a symbol — he was a man who chose to spend his life taking the hits in public, and Woodberry watched him do it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWear your attempt.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe same verdict is in \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/not-to-have-tried-journal\"\u003ethe Not to Have Tried Journal\u003c\/a\u003e — the ensō on the cover, for the attempts that need a page, not just a chest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe same line, different weight: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/true-failure-woodberry-heretics-t-shirt\"\u003ethe True Failure Tee\u003c\/a\u003e — for the person who has already taken the loss and is working out what it meant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso on the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/mankind-artist-tee\"\u003eMankind.Artist. Tee\u003c\/a\u003e — Woodberry on humanity as the ultimate artist.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrowse the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/collections\/george-woodberry\"\u003eGeorge Woodberry collection\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGeorge Edward Woodberry, in Plain English\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBorn 1855 in Beverly, Massachusetts; died 1930\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePoet, literary critic, and professor of comparative literature at Columbia University (1891–1904), where he headed the department\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAt Harvard (A.B. 1877), mentored by Charles Eliot Norton and James Russell Lowell\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWrote \u003cem\u003eThe Heart of Man\u003c\/em\u003e (1899) and biographies of Hawthorne, Emerson, and Wendell Phillips\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLeft Columbia in 1904 and kept writing and teaching into his seventies\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis papers are held at Columbia's Butler Library\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis 1912 book on Wendell Phillips — the source of this quote — was a study in what moral courage costs\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n","brand":"quoteiac","offers":[{"title":"S","offer_id":42590517297246,"sku":"8637444_46041","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"M","offer_id":42590517330014,"sku":"8637444_46048","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"L","offer_id":42590517362782,"sku":"8637444_46055","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XL","offer_id":42590517395550,"sku":"8637444_46062","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2XL","offer_id":42590517428318,"sku":"8637444_46069","price":39.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"3XL","offer_id":42590517461086,"sku":"8637444_46076","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0554\/8664\/4318\/files\/Not_to_Have_Tried_Woodberry_Organic_Quote_Tee.png?v=1784921401"},{"product_id":"not-to-have-tried-woodberry-heretics-journal","title":"Not to Have Tried — Woodberry Journal","description":"\u003cp\u003eA literary hardcover journal featuring George Edward Woodberry’s “Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.” — verified from the primary source. Literary objects by Quoteiac.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome lines stay private. They live in the part of you that tallies what you've done and what you kept deciding to do later. George Woodberry wrote one of those lines — and a journal is where it belongs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGeorge Edward Woodberry\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Woodberry's \u003cem\u003eWendell Phillips: The Faith of an American\u003c\/em\u003e (1912), pp. 44–45. Verified from the primary source.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWoodberry wrote those words at the close of his 1912 book on Wendell Phillips — abolitionist, orator, one of the most demanding public consciences of the nineteenth century. The line wasn't ornamental. It was a distinction: between what happens to you and what you chose. Defeat is an outcome. You can be defeated and still have been present, still have thrown something into the world. Not trying is different — a decision you made before anything could happen. And Woodberry said plainly that this, not defeat, is the failure that costs you something real.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA journal is the one place that distinction can't be negotiated. In conversation you can make not-trying sound like caution, like strategy, like waiting for the right moment. On a blank page there's no audience to convince. You either did or you didn't, and the white space knows which.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Ensō\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cover carries a hand-brushed gold-and-copper \u003cem\u003eensō\u003c\/em\u003e — the Zen circle painted in one motion and left open at the bottom. Both sentences of the quote sit inside it in italic serif, with Woodberry's name quiet beneath. The open gap is deliberate: in the ensō tradition the unfinished circle is the complete one, because the attempt — not the finished shape — is the form. A fitting mark for a book of blank pages. The circle is the trying; the pages are where you do it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout This Journal\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSize\u003c\/strong\u003e — 5.5″ × 8.5″\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePages\u003c\/strong\u003e — 80 lined, cream-colored pages\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCover\u003c\/strong\u003e — hardcover, matte, with the ensō printed on the front\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eClosure\u003c\/strong\u003e — elastic band and ribbon page marker\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eInner pocket\u003c\/strong\u003e — expandable back pocket for loose notes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWho It's For\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe person sitting on a project, a decision, a conversation they keep meaning to start. Anyone who wants a journal that asks something of them instead of just holding their thoughts. And a real gift for the person who's ready but hasn't moved yet — the blank line is the invitation, and the accusation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe attempt is the point. Begin.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe same line is on the tees — two angles, one verdict:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/not-to-have-tried-woodberry-heretics-t-shirt\"\u003eNot to Have Tried Tee\u003c\/a\u003e — for the person deciding whether to go again after a loss\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/true-failure-woodberry-heretics-t-shirt\"\u003eTrue Failure Tee\u003c\/a\u003e — for the person who has already taken the loss and is working out what it meant\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/mankind-artist-tee\"\u003eMankind.Artist. Tee\u003c\/a\u003e — Woodberry on humanity as the ultimate artist\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrowse the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/collections\/george-woodberry\"\u003eGeorge Woodberry collection\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGeorge Edward Woodberry, in Plain English\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAmerican poet and literary critic (1855–1930)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProfessor of comparative literature at Columbia University (1891–1904); at Harvard he was mentored by Charles Eliot Norton and James Russell Lowell\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis line comes from his 1912 book on Wendell Phillips — verified from that primary source\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe quote is misattributed all over the internet — it's genuinely his\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNot a household name, which is part of what makes the line land differently once you know the source\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBelieved in the examined life and the specific courage it takes to actually begin\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n","brand":"Quoteiac","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42640712269918,"sku":"2513053_16952","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0554\/8664\/4318\/files\/Not_to_Have_Tried_Woodberry_Journal.png?v=1784921484"},{"product_id":"true-failure-woodberry-heretics-t-shirt","title":"True Failure — Woodberry Literary Tee","description":"\u003cp\u003eA black literary quote t-shirt featuring George Edward Woodberry’s “Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.” — verified from the primary source. Literary apparel by Quoteiac.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou can be defeated. That is not the same as failing.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGeorge Edward Woodberry\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Woodberry's \u003cem\u003eWendell Phillips: The Faith of an American\u003c\/em\u003e (1912), pp. 44–45. Verified from the primary source.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWoodberry is drawing a precise line. Defeat is an outcome — something the world hands you. Failure is a verdict — something you hand yourself, before you ever step in. The person who tries and loses has done something the person who stands outside watching never will: made the one choice that takes failure off the table.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tee is for the person who already knows what defeat feels like — who has taken the loss and is still working out what it meant. The answer is in the quote. Defeat was never the verdict. The verdict only ever comes earlier, in the moment you decide whether to try at all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Ensō\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA gold-and-copper \u003cem\u003eensō\u003c\/em\u003e — a brushstroke circle, open at the bottom — carries the full quote in italic serif, centered inside the curve. The circle is thick and warm, painted in one motion and deliberately left incomplete. Below the quote, inside the ring, the name George Woodberry sits small and quiet. The open gap at the base isn't a flaw: in the tradition the form comes from, the unfinished circle is the shape of the attempt — the space where the action enters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout This Tee\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLightweight 4.2 oz\/yd² (142 g\/m²) combed and ring-spun cotton — soft, breathable, holds its shape\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRelaxed unisex fit — runs true to size\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlack tee with gold-and-copper ensō print on the front\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRibbed crew neck, side-seamed construction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePre-shrunk; machine wash cold, tumble dry low\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQuoteiac logo on the left sleeve\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWho It's For\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSomeone who has already been through it. This isn't a motivational tee for people on their way in — it's a reminder tee for people who know what the far side of a loss looks like. You tried. It didn't go your way. This quote sits differently on a chest that's been there. That's the point.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWear your attempt.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe same verdict is in \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/not-to-have-tried-journal\"\u003ethe Not to Have Tried Journal\u003c\/a\u003e — the ensō on the cover, for the attempts that need a page, not just a chest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe same quote, different angle: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/not-to-have-tried-woodberry-heretics-t-shirt\"\u003ethe Not to Have Tried Tee\u003c\/a\u003e — for the person deciding whether to go again after a loss.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso on the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/mankind-artist-tee\"\u003eMankind.Artist. Tee\u003c\/a\u003e — Woodberry on humanity as the ultimate artist.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrowse the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/collections\/george-woodberry\"\u003eGeorge Woodberry collection\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGeorge Edward Woodberry, in Plain English\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBorn 1855 in Beverly, Massachusetts; died 1930\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePoet, literary critic, and professor of comparative literature at Columbia University (1891–1904)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarvard graduate, class of 1877\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis 1912 book on Wendell Phillips — the source of this quote — was a study in what moral courage costs\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChampioned difficult, unpopular writers when it was easier not to\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBelieved literature had to mean something, not just entertain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n","brand":"Quoteiac","offers":[{"title":"XS","offer_id":42676287373406,"sku":"4593215_21593","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"S","offer_id":42676287406174,"sku":"4593215_21594","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"M","offer_id":42676287438942,"sku":"4593215_21595","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"L","offer_id":42676287471710,"sku":"4593215_21596","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XL","offer_id":42676287504478,"sku":"4593215_21597","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2XL","offer_id":42676287537246,"sku":"4593215_21598","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0554\/8664\/4318\/files\/True_Failure_Woodberry_Literary_Tee.png?v=1784921161"}],"url":"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/collections\/woodberry-not-to-have-tried.oembed","provider":"Quoteiac","version":"1.0","type":"link"}