We must never expect discretion in first love: it is accompanied by such excessive joy that unless the joy is allowed to overflow, it will choke you.
Alexandre DumasRead
A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms against himself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Self-doubt undermines one's own strength and potential.
In this quote, Alexandre Dumas emphasizes the detrimental impact of self-doubt on a person's identity and effectiveness. By equating self-doubt to enlisting in one's own enemies, he illustrates how undermining our self-belief can lead us to sabotage our own efforts and progress, turning our strengths into weaknesses.
Themes
Self-DoubtBeliefIdentityStrengthPotential
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech to encourage self-confidence in students.
More from Alexandre Dumas
All quotes βThere are two ways of seeing: with the body and with the soul. The body's sight can sometimes forget, but the soul remembers forever.
Alexandre DumasRead
I do not often laugh, sir, as you may perceive by the air of my countenance; but nevertheless, I retain the privilege of laughing when I please.
Alexandre DumasRead
There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.
Alexandre DumasRead
Those born to wealth, and who have the means of gratifying every wish, know not what is the real happiness of life, just as those who have been tossed on the stormy waters of the ocean on a few frail planks can alone realize the blessings of fair weather.
Alexandre DumasRead
It is the way of weakened minds to see everything through a black cloud. The soul forms its own horizons; your soul is darkened, and consequently the sky of the future appears stormy and unpromising
Alexandre DumasRead
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