--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every disastrous accident alarms us, and…" description: "\"Every disastrous accident alarms us, and sets us on enquiries concerning the principles whence it arose: Apprehensions spring up with regard to futurit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/david-hume-538_accidents_every-disastrous-accident-alarms-us-and_807527.jpg" --- # Every disastrous accident alarms us, and sets us on… ![“Every disastrous accident alarms us, and sets us on enquiries concerning the principles whence it arose: Apprehensions spring up with regard to futurity: And the mind, sunk into diffidence, terror, and melancholy, has recourse to every method of appeasing those secret intelligent powers, on whom…” quote by David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/david-hume-538_accidents_every-disastrous-accident-alarms-us-and_807527.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/david-hume-538_accidents_every-disastrous-accident-alarms-us-and_807527.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/david-hume-538_accidents_every-disastrous-accident-alarms-us-and_807527.jpg) > “Every disastrous accident alarms us, and sets us on enquiries concerning the principles whence it arose: Apprehensions spring up with regard to futurity: And the mind, sunk into diffidence, terror, and melancholy, has recourse to every method of appeasing those secret intelligent powers, on whom our fortune is supposed entirely to depend.” [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Disasters trigger fear of the future, leading minds to seek reassurance from unseen forces. **In simple terms:** Accidents cause fear and speculation about fate. Key Takeaway Recognize fear and seek rational comfort. Themes fear uncertainty human nature philosophy Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - risk assessment - counseling - philosophical reflection Key Concepts anxiety future belief systems Questions to Reflect On - What rational steps can you take after a disaster? - How do you balance hope and realism? A Different Perspective Relying on unseen forces can hinder practical problem‑solving. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Alarms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alarms/) [Apprehension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprehension/) [Concerning Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerning-principles-6162188/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Diffidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diffidence/) [Disastrous Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disastrous-accident-6162189/) [Enquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enquiry/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Futurity Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/futurity-mind-6162190/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Intelligent Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-powers-6162191/) [Melancholy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melancholy/) [Method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/method/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Recourse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recourse/) [Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard/) [Regard Futurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard-futurity-6162187/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) ## Related quotes > [Diffidence is a sort of false modesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/diffidence-is-a-sort-of-false-modesty/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Discretion has been termed the better part of valour, and it is more certain, that diffidence is the better part of knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/discretion-has-been-termed-the-better-part-of-valour-and-it-is-more/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Modesty is related to diffidence, diffidence is related to shyness, Shyness is a synonym for timidity, timidity is a characteristic of the meek, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/modesty-is-related-to-diffidence-diffidence-is-related-to-shyness/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Diffidence in an officer is a good mark because he will always endeavor to bring himself up to what he conceives to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/diffidence-in-an-officer-is-a-good-mark-because-he-will-always/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [ No pains must be spared to wipe out all feeling of diffidence, embarrassment, or shame on the part of those receiving relief; \[we\] must… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heber-j-grant/no-pains-must-be-spared-to-wipe-out-all-feeling-of-diffidence/) [Heber J. 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My old fears, my diffidence, my shyness, my hopeless sense of inferiority, must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/the-moment-of-crisis-had-come-and-i-must-face-it-my-old-fears-my/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [I went from resenting my mother-in-law to accepting her, finally to appreciating her. What appeared to be her diffidence when I was first married,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-went-from-resenting-my-mother-in-law-to-accepting-her-finally-to/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Every reader should remember the diffidence of Socrates, and repair by his candour the injuries of time: he should impute the seeming defects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-reader-should-remember-the-diffidence-of-socrates-and-repair-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Chastity is oftener owing to diffidence and shame, than to fortitude of reason or virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/chastity-is-oftener-owing-to-diffidence-and-shame-than-to-fortitude/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [The true confidence which is faith in Christ, and the true diffidence which is utter distrust of myself--are identical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/the-true-confidence-which-is-faith-in-christ-and-the-true-diffidence/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) ## More by David Hume > [“Beauty in things exists in the mind that contemplates them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-in-things-exists-in-the-mind-that-contemplates-them/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“It is impossible for us to think of any thing, which we have not antecedently felt, either by our external or internal senses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impossible-for-us-to-think-of-any-thing-which-we-have-not/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [All morality depends upon our sentiments; and when any action or quality of the mind pleases us after a certain manner we say it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/all-morality-depends-upon-our-sentiments-and-when-any-action-or/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. 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When I hear a man is religious , I conclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/they-all-make-up-new-species-of-crime-and-bring-unhappiness-in-their/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [There is not to be found, in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-not-to-be-found-in-all-history-any-miracle-attested-by-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“But though there be naturally a wide difference in point of delicacy between one person and another, nothing tends further to encrease and improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/but-though-there-be-naturally-a-wide-difference-in-point-of-delicacy/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) [Explore all 487 David Hume quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. 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