There is only one thing about which I am certain, and this is that there is very little about which one can be certain.
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
Doubts are more cruel than the worst of truths.
—Moliere (1622–73) French Playwright
Skepticism is the beginning of Faith.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Doubt indulged soon becomes doubt realized.
—Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–79) English Anglican Poet, Hymn Writer
The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you can’t accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.
—Rosalynn Carter (1927–2023) American Humanitarian, First Lady
A new disease? I know not, new or old, but it may well be called poor mortals plague for, like a pestilence, it doth infect the houses of the brain till not a thought, or motion, in the mind, be free from the black poison of suspect.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
Four be the things I’d been better without: Love, curiosity, Freckles and doubt.
—Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American Humorist, Journalist
When we are not sure, we are alive.
—Graham Greene (1904–91) British Novelist, Playwright, Short Story Writer
To doubt is worse than to have lost; And to despair is but to antedate those miseries that must fall on us.
—Philip Massinger (1583–1640) English Playwright
Uncertainty hurts business. It annoys individuals. Why keep the whole country, including business and individuals, in uncertainty over the extent of the tax burdens to be placed upon us? How many of those who voted for Calvin Coolidge imagined for a moment that would do nothing to bring about tax relief before 1926? … But if the Administration persists in opposing a special session then it will inevitably be 1926 before action is taken…. Coolidge and Congress should ease our minds and grease our activities by reforming and reducing taxation as soon as feasible after March 4.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
Doubt is part of all religion. All the religious thinkers were doubters.
—Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902–91) Polish-born American Writer, Novelist, Short Story Writer
The longing for certainty … is in every human mind. But certainty is generally illusion.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist
Doubt can only be removed by action.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Faith … acts promptly and boldly on the occasion, on slender evidence.
—John Henry Newman (1801–90) British Theologian, Poet
To deny, to believe, and to doubt absolutely—this is for man what running is for a horse.
—Blaise Pascal (1623–62) French Mathematician, Physicist, Theologian
The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. Accept life, and you must accept regret.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
There is a kind of courtesy in skepticism. It would be an offense against polite conventions to press our doubts too far.
—George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American Poet, Philosopher
It is reserved for man alone to find his very existence questionable, to experience the whole dubiousness of being. More than such faculties as power of speech, conceptual thinking, or walking erect, this factor of doubting the significance of his own existence is what sets man apart from animal.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection.
—Henri Poincare (1854–1912) French Mathematician
The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is unchangeable or certain.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
Doubts and mistrust are the mere panic of timid imagination, which the steadfast heart will conquer, and the large mind transcend.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Never do anything concerning the rectitude of which you have a doubt.
—Pliny the Elder (23–79CE) Roman Statesman, Scholar
One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
—Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Novelist
Do not let yourself be tainted with a barren skepticism.
—Louis Pasteur (1822–95) French Biologist
Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.
—Paul Tillich (1886–1965) German-born Protestant Theologian
Laugh at yourself, but don’t ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don’t leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.
—Alan Alda (b.1936) American Actor, TV Personality, Screenwriter
When in doubt, do it.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) American Jurist, Author
When in doubt, tell the truth.
—Indian Proverb
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