“When our actions do not, our fears do make us traitors”
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English playwright and poet
“Our doubts are traitors,
and make us lose the good we oft might win,
by fearing to attempt.”
Source: Measure for Measure
Last update Sept. 28, 2023. History
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and make us lose the good we oft might win,
by fearing to attempt." by William Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare699
English playwright and poet 1564–1616Related quotes
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Context: War is fought in this fog of falsehood, a great deal of it undiscovered and accepted as truth. The fog arises from fear and is fed by panic. Any attempt to doubt or deny even the most fantastic story has to be condemned at once as unpatriotic, if not traitorous. This allows a free field for the rapid spread of lies. If they were only used to deceive the enemy in the game of war it would not be worth troubling about. But, as the purpose of most of them is to fan indignation and induce the flower of the country's youth to be ready to make the supreme sacrifice, it becomes a serious matter. Exposure, therefore, may be useful, even when the struggle is over, in order to show up the fraud, hypocrisy, and humbug on which all war rests, and the blatant and vulgar devices which have been used for so long to prevent the poor ignorant people from realizing the true meaning of war.