#doubt

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, The proper study of mankind is Man. Placed on this isthmus of a middle state, A being darkly wise and rudely great: With too much knowledge for the Sceptic side, With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride, He hangs between, in doubt to act or rest; In doubt to deem himself a God or Beast; In doubt his mind or body to prefer; Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err; Alike in ignorance, his reason such, Whether he thinks too little or too much; Chaos of thought and passion, all confused; Still by himself abused or disabused; Created half to rise, and half to fall; Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all; Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd; The glory, jest, and riddle of the world! ↗

— Alexander Pope

#enlightenment #error #fallibility #humanity #humility

When in doubt wear red. ↗

— Bill Blass

#red #wear #when in doubt

But God, who is the Eternal Mind, is undoubtedly of excellence, complete and perfect in every part. ↗

— Lactantius

#eternal #every #excellence #god #mind

My coming to faith did not start with a leap but rather a series of staggers from what seemed like one safe place to another. Like lily pads, round and green, these places summoned and then held me up while I grew. Each prepared me for the next leaf on which I would land, and in this way I moved across the swamp of doubt and fear. ↗

— Anne Lamott

#another #coming #did #doubt #each

And I mean I never doubt anybody's record. ↗

— Inge de Bruijn

#doubt #i #mean #never #record

Indeed, I am sometimes inclined to doubt whether some men consider youth as rational and intelligent beings, with minds capable of expansion, and talents formed for usefulness. ↗

— Joseph Lancaster

#beings #capable #consider #doubt #expansion

There is no doubt that I, also, had long been aware of the problem, i.e. producing X-ray interferences, before the inherent difficulties had finally been surmounted. ↗

— Max von Laue

#aware #been #before #difficulties #doubt

Melancholy and sadness are the start of doubt... doubt is the beginning of despair; despair is the cruel beginning of the differing degrees of wickedness. ↗

— Isidore Ducasse Lautreamont

#cruel #degrees #despair #differing #doubt

It's kind of a rule of thumb for me to self-doubt going into any kind of project. I always think that I shouldn't be doing it and I don't know how to do it and I'm going to fail and that I fooled them. I always try to find a way out. ↗

— Heath Ledger

#any #doing #fail #find #fooled

In these times, the hardest task for social or political activists is to find a way to get people to wonder again about what we all believe is true. The challenge is to sow doubt. ↗

— Lawrence Lessig

#activists #again #believe #challenge #doubt