Skip to content
Shawords

Quote#Wisdom

The greatest obstacle to being heroic is the doubt whether one may…

Quote byNathaniel Hawthorne · 1804–1864

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: The Blithedale Romance (1852), Ch. II : Blithedale.

English (original)

The greatest obstacle to being heroic is the doubt whether one may not be going to prove one's self a fool; the truest heroism is to resist the doubt; and the profoundest wisdom to know when it ought to be resisted, and when to be obeyed.

— Nathaniel Hawthorne

More from Nathaniel Hawthorne