“To believe with certainty we must begin with doubting.”
Stanisław Leszczyński (1677–1766) king of Poland
No. 61.
Maxims and Moral Sentences
“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.”
Book I, v, 8
The Advancement of Learning (1605)
Source: The Advancement Of Learning
Context: The two ways of contemplation are not unlike the two ways of action commonly spoken of by the ancients: the one plain and smooth in the beginning, and in the end impassable; the other rough and troublesome in the entrance, but after a while fair and even. So it is in contemplation: If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.
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Francis Bacon295
English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and auth… 1561–1626Related quotes
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