--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can that which is the greatest virtue in…" description: "\"Can that which is the greatest virtue in philosophy, doubt (called by Galileo the father of invention), be in religion what the priests term it, the gr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_doubt_can-that-which-is-the-greatest-virtue-in_2508410.png" --- # Can that which is the greatest virtue in philosophy, doubt… ![“Can that which is the greatest virtue in philosophy, doubt (called by Galileo the father of invention), be in religion what the priests term it, the greatest of sins?” quote by Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_doubt_can-that-which-is-the-greatest-virtue-in_2508410.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_doubt_can-that-which-is-the-greatest-virtue-in_2508410.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_doubt_can-that-which-is-the-greatest-virtue-in_2508410.png) > “Can that which is the greatest virtue in philosophy, doubt (called by Galileo the father of invention), be in religion what the priests term it, the greatest of sins?” [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Philosophical doubt, praised as a driver of invention, is sometimes condemned as sin in religion, highlighting a tension between inquiry and doctrine. **In simple terms:** Doubt fuels invention but may be seen as sinful. Key Takeaway Embrace doubt as a creative force. Themes philosophy religion inquiry creativity Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - scientific research - theological debate - personal belief systems Key Concepts doubt virtue sin Questions to Reflect On - Can doubt coexist with faith? - How does doubt inspire innovation? A Different Perspective Religious contexts may suppress questioning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [“And therefore, Tranio, for the time I study 17 Virtue, and that part of philosophy 18 Will I apply that treats of happiness 19…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/and-therefore-tranio-for-the-time-i-study-17-virtue-and-that-part-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [We cannot begin with complete doubt. We must begin with all the prejudices which we actually have when we enter upon the study ofphilosophy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/we-cannot-begin-with-complete-doubt-we-must-begin-with-all-the/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [“Let us not pretend to doubt in philosophy what we do not doubt in our hearts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/let-us-not-pretend-to-doubt-in-philosophy-what-we-do-not-doubt-in-our/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [“My philosophy is ‘When in doubt, you can live without.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christin-lovell/my-philosophy-is-when-in-doubt-you-can-live-without/) [Christin Lovell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christin-lovell/) > [“I had noticed also that Queequeg never consorted at all, or but very little, with the other seamen in the inn. He made no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/i-had-noticed-also-that-queequeg-never-consorted-at-all-or-but-very/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Philosophy is doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/philosophy-is-doubt/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [While we fight and argue about abortion and sexual orientation, we apparently forgot one of the greatest sins that God continuously acknowledges He hates:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-franklin/while-we-fight-and-argue-about-abortion-and-sexual-orientation-we/) [Kirk Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-franklin/) > [It turns out that speeding irresponsibly in a large truck, placing personal wealth ahead of the welfare of others, is one of the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/it-turns-out-that-speeding-irresponsibly-in-a-large-truck-placing/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [Ugliness is the greatest of all sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-l-peretz/ugliness-is-the-greatest-of-all-sins/) [I. L. Peretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-l-peretz/) > [“One of mankind’s greatest sins is inaction in the face of injustice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kramer/one-of-mankind-s-greatest-sins-is-inaction-in-the-face-of-injustice/) [John Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kramer/) > [Lying is the greatest of all sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nobel/lying-is-the-greatest-of-all-sins/) [Alfred Nobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nobel/) > [There are times when one is tempted to say that the great, sprawling, lethargic sin of Sloth is the oldest and greatest of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/there-are-times-when-one-is-tempted-to-say-that-the-great-sprawling/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [The greatest of all sins is stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-greatest-of-all-sins-is-stupidity/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Unbelief is the greatest of sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/unbelief-is-the-greatest-of-sins/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“They say, love God, for it is the greatest virtue. I say, love humans, for there is no greater virtue, no greater religion, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/they-say-love-god-for-it-is-the-greatest-virtue-i-say-love-humans-for/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) ## More by Christian Nestell Bovee > [What is taken from the fortune, also, may haply be so much lifted from the soul. The greatness of a loss, as the proverb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/what-is-taken-from-the-fortune-also-may-haply-be-so-much-lifted-from/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [The next best thing to being witty one's self, is to be able to be able to quote another's wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/the-next-best-thing-to-being-witty-one-s-self-is-to-be-able-to-be/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [There are ceremonious bows that repel one like a cudgel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/there-are-ceremonious-bows-that-repel-one-like-a-cudgel/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [There are some weaknesses that are peculiar and distinctive to generous characters, as freckles are to a fair skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/there-are-some-weaknesses-that-are-peculiar-and-distinctive-to/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [A genuine passion is like a mountain stream; it admits of no impediment; it cannot go backward; it must go forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/a-genuine-passion-is-like-a-mountain-stream-it-admits-of-no/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Our courage is greater to dare a visible than an imagined danger. A visible danger rouses our energies to meet or avert it; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/our-courage-is-greater-to-dare-a-visible-than-an-imagined-danger-a/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [A good thought is indeed a great boon, for which God is to be first thanked; next he who is the first to utter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/a-good-thought-is-indeed-a-great-boon-for-which-god-is-to-be-first/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [We should not so much esteem our poverty as a misfortune, were it not that the world treats it so much as a crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/we-should-not-so-much-esteem-our-poverty-as-a-misfortune-were-it-not/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [He has but one great fear that fears to do wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/he-has-but-one-great-fear-that-fears-to-do-wrong/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Six traits of effective leaders: 1. Make others feel important 2. Promote a vision 3. Follow the golden rule 4. Admit mistakes 5. Criticize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/six-traits-of-effective-leaders-1-make-others-feel-important-2/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [In a contest with a weaker party it is more honorable to yield than to force concession. Magnanimity becomes the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/in-a-contest-with-a-weaker-party-it-is-more-honorable-to-yield-than/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Wit is better as a seasoning than as a whole dish by itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/wit-is-better-as-a-seasoning-than-as-a-whole-dish-by-itself/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [To cultivate a garden is. . . to go hand in hand with Nature in some of her most beautiful processes, to learn something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/to-cultivate-a-garden-is-to-go-hand-in-hand-with-nature-in-some-of/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [It is with a company as it is with a punch, everything depends upon the ingredients of which it in composed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/it-is-with-a-company-as-it-is-with-a-punch-everything-depends-upon/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [It is not the number of facts he knows, but how much of a fact he is himself, that proves the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/it-is-not-the-number-of-facts-he-knows-but-how-much-of-a-fact-he-is/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) [Explore all 310 Christian Nestell Bovee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) ## More Doubt quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Two powerful, little words I've learned to use when facing challenges, fears, and doubts— so what? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/two-powerful-little-words-i-ve-learned-to-use-when-facing-challenges/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/for-diplomacy-to-be-effective-words-must-be-credible-and-no-one-can/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Vision motivates, sustains and dispels doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-young/vision-motivates-sustains-and-dispels-doubt/) [Thomas Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-young/) > [One may not doubt that, somehow Good Shall come of Water and of Mud; And sure, the reverent eye must see A purpose in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/one-may-not-doubt-that-somehow-good-shall-come-of-water-and-of-mud/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [Let smiles overshadow sadness. Let faith make you believe. Let confidence wash away doubts. Let love complete your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/let-smiles-overshadow-sadness-let-faith-make-you-believe-let/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapman/when-in-doubt-suggest-that-a-subcommittee-be-appointed/) Harry Chapman > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) [Browse all 9,582 Doubt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Can that which is the greatest virtue in philosophy, doubt (called by Galileo the father of invention), be in religion what the priests term it, the greatest of sins?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christian Nestell Bovee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/can-that-which-is-the-greatest-virtue-in-philosophy-doubt-called-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doubt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/can-that-which-is-the-greatest-virtue-in-philosophy-doubt-called-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_doubt_can-that-which-is-the-greatest-virtue-in_2508410.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_doubt_can-that-which-is-the-greatest-virtue-in_2508410.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_doubt_can-that-which-is-the-greatest-virtue-in_2508410.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Can that which is the greatest virtue in philosophy, doubt (called by Galileo the father of invention), be…” — Christian Nestell Bovee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christian Nestell Bovee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Can that which is the greatest...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/can-that-which-is-the-greatest-virtue-in-philosophy-doubt-called-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/can-that-which-is-the-greatest-virtue-in-philosophy-doubt-called-by/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```