I hav larn’t one thing, bi grate experience, and that iz, I want as much watching az mi nabors do.
[I have learned one thing, by great experience, and that is, I want as much watching as my neighbors do.]Josh Billings (1818–1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 155 “Affurisms: Ink Lings” (1874)
(Source)
In H. Montague, ed., Wit and Wisdom of Josh Billings (1913), this is given:I've learned one thing from experience -- that I'll bear watching about as much as some of my neighbors.
Quotations about:
self-trust
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
For some men, the stronger their desire, the more difficult it is for them to act. They are hampered by mistrust of themselves, daunted by the fear of giving offence; besides, deep feelings of affection are like respectable women; they are afraid of being found out and they go through life with downcast eyes.
Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880) French writer, novelist
Sentimental Education, Part 2, ch. 3 (1869)
(Source)
Elsewhere as Book 2, ch. 16.
Our Passions, Ambition, Avarice, Love, Resentment &c possess so much metaphysical Subtilty and so much overpowering Eloquence, that they insinuate themselves into the Understanding and the Conscience and convert both to their Party. And I may be deceived as much as any of them, when I Say, that Power must never be trusted without a Check.
John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founder, statesman; US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1816-02-02) to Thomas Jefferson
(Source)
A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his.
In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humored inflexibility then most when the whole cry of voices is on the other side. Else to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1841), “Self-Reliance,” Essays: First Series, No. 2
(Source)
This essay was inspired by his reading of Walter Savage Landor in 1833, with passages pulled from his lecture "Individualism," last in his course on "The Philosophy of History" (1836–1837), with other passages from the lectures "School," "Genius," and "Duty" in his course on "Human Life" (1838–1839).
Finally, stick to the advice your own heart gives you,
no one can be truer to you than that;
since a man’s soul often forewarns him better
than seven watchmen perched on a watchtower.[καὶ βουλὴν καρδίας στῆσον,
οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν σοι πιστότερος αὐτῆς·
ψυχὴ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς ἀπαγγέλλειν ἐνίοτε εἴωθεν
ἢ ἑπτὰ σκοποὶ ἐπὶ μετεώρου καθήμενοι ἐπὶ σκοπῆς.]The Bible (The Old Testament) (14th - 2nd C BC) Judeo-Christian sacred scripture [Tanakh, Hebrew Bible], incl. the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonicals)
Book 22b. Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 37:13ff (Sir 37:13–14) [JB (1966)]
(Source)
More on the history and acceptance of this Apocryphal book here and here.
(Source (Greek)). Other translations:And let the counsel of thine own heart stand: for there is no man more faithful unto thee than it. For a man's mind is sometime wont to tell him more than seven watchmen, that sit above in an high tower.
[KJV (1611)]And establish within thyself a heart of good counsel: for there is no other thing of more worth to thee than it. The soul of a holy man discovereth sometimes true things, more than seven watchmen that sit in a high piece to watch.
[DRA (1899); 37:17-18]Finally, stick to the advice your own heart gives you,
no one can be truer to you than that;
since a person's soul often gives a clearer warning
than seven watchmen perched on a watchtower.
[tr. NJB (1985)]And trust your own judgment; no one's advice is more reliable. Sometimes your own intuition can tell you more than seven watchmen on a high tower.
[GNT (1976)]Listen carefully to what
your own heart tells you,
since nothing is more faithful
to you than it.
At times a person’s intuition
keeps them informed
better than seven sentries
sitting high up on a lookout.
[tr. CEB (2011)]And heed the counsel of your own heart,
for no one is more faithful to you than it is.
For our own mind sometimes keeps us better informed
than seven sentinels sitting high on a watchtower.
[NRSV (1989 ed.)]
