--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A speculative despair is unpardonable…" description: "\"A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.\" — Edmund Burke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/edmund-burke-400_despair_a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-wh_19738.jpg" --- # A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to… ![“A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.” quote by Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/edmund-burke-400_despair_a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-wh_19738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/edmund-burke-400_despair_a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-wh_19738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/edmund-burke-400_despair_a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-wh_19738.jpg) > “A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.” [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It condemns idle pessimism when responsibility demands action, urging proactive engagement over fatalistic resignation. **In simple terms:** Reject idle despair, act responsibly. Key Takeaway Duty overrides speculative gloom. Themes Responsibility Action Pessimism Ethics Motivation Mood Resolute Urgent Type Moral aphorism Motivational quote When to use this quote - Leadership decisions - Crisis management - Policy formulation - Personal accountability Key Concepts Moral obligation Agency Practical Applications - Motivational speaking - Ethical training Questions to Reflect On - How does fear of uncertainty affect decision‑making? - When should we prioritize action over analysis? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) ## Related quotes > [“But in such cases as these a good memory is unpardonable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/but-in-such-cases-as-these-a-good-memory-is-unpardonable/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [People will forgive anything but beauty and talent. So I am doubly unpardonable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whistler/people-will-forgive-anything-but-beauty-and-talent-so-i-am-doubly/) [James Whistler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whistler/) > [...the unpardonable sin is to be an unpleasant person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galen-starr-ross/the-unpardonable-sin-is-to-be-an-unpleasant-person/) Galen Starr Ross > [If nothing is to be done in the given situation, he must invent plausible reasons for doing nothing; and if something must be done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-merriam/if-nothing-is-to-be-done-in-the-given-situation-he-must-invent/) [Charles Edward Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-merriam/) > [The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-most-unpardonable-sin-in-society-is-independence-of-thought/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [It is bad enough to be bad, but to be bad in bad taste is unpardonable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/it-is-bad-enough-to-be-bad-but-to-be-bad-in-bad-taste-is-unpardonable/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [I still think sincere pessimism the unpardonable sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-still-think-sincere-pessimism-the-unpardonable-sin/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm truthful -- which is very nearly unpardonable in civilized society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/i-m-truthful-which-is-very-nearly-unpardonable-in-civilized-society/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [Success is the one unpardonable sin against our fellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/success-is-the-one-unpardonable-sin-against-our-fellows/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Forgiveness is the one unpardonable sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/forgiveness-is-the-one-unpardonable-sin/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I grew up thinking there was one unpardonable sin – to be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/i-grew-up-thinking-there-was-one-unpardonable-sin-to-be-boring/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [I have seen that every one forgives much in themselves that they find unpardonable in other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/i-have-seen-that-every-one-forgives-much-in-themselves-that-they-find/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [Imagine a crime series in which, every week, there is a white suspect and a black suspect. And every week, lo and behold, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/imagine-a-crime-series-in-which-every-week-there-is-a-white-suspect/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The unpardonable sin is the sin of inadvertence, of not being alert, not quite awake. —Joseph Campbell”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-tricarico/the-unpardonable-sin-is-the-sin-of-inadvertence-of-not-being-alert/) Dan Tricarico > [“It is unpardonable for you to leave this world without recording some greatness in your account.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-unpardonable-for-you-to-leave-this-world-without-recording-some/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) ## More by Edmund Burke > [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Many of the greatest tyrants on the records of history have begun their reigns in the fairest manner. But the truth is, this unnatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/many-of-the-greatest-tyrants-on-the-records-of-history-have-begun/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Wise men will apply their remedies to vices, not to names; to the causes of evil which are permanent, not to the occasional organs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/wise-men-will-apply-their-remedies-to-vices-not-to-names-to-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [My vigour relents. I pardon something to the spirit of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/my-vigour-relents-i-pardon-something-to-the-spirit-of-liberty/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The great must submit to the dominion of prudence and of virtue, or none will long submit to the dominion of thegreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-must-submit-to-the-dominion-of-prudence-and-of-virtue-or/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [What is it we all seek for in an election? To answer its real purposes, you must first possess the means of knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-is-it-we-all-seek-for-in-an-election-to-answer-its-real-purposes/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Society is indeed a contract. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/society-is-indeed-a-contract-it-is-a-partnership-in-all-science-a/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [You can never plan the future by the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/you-can-never-plan-the-future-by-the-past/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The great inlet by which a colour for oppression has entered into the world is by one man's pretending to determine concerning the happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-inlet-by-which-a-colour-for-oppression-has-entered-into-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [By the disposition of a stupendous wisdom, moulding together the great mysterious incorporation of the human race, the whole, at one time, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/by-the-disposition-of-a-stupendous-wisdom-moulding-together-the-great/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Religion, to have any force upon men's understandings,--indeed, to exist at all,--must be supposed paramount to law, and independent for its substance upon any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/religion-to-have-any-force-upon-men-s-understandings-indeed-to-exist/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-a-general-popular-error-to-suppose-the-loudest-complainers-for/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Explore all 595 Edmund Burke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) Louaiq8 > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [If there's more that you can do, then do it. If there's not more that you can do, then be content with what you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/if-there-s-more-that-you-can-do-then-do-it-if-there-s-not-more-that/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund Burke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Despair" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/edmund-burke-400_despair_a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-wh_19738.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/edmund-burke-400_despair_a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-wh_19738.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/edmund-burke-400_despair_a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-wh_19738.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.” — Edmund Burke", "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": "Edmund Burke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A speculative despair is unpardonable where...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/#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 } } ] } ```