--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is, we believe, Idle to hope that the…" description: "\"It is, we believe, Idle to hope that the simple stirrup-pump Can extinguish hell.\" — Henry Reed" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/henry-reed-18428_believe_it-is-we-believe-idle-to-hope-that-the-s_3132496.png" --- # It is, we believe, Idle to hope that the simple… ![“It is, we believe, Idle to hope that the simple stirrup-pump Can extinguish hell.” quote by Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/henry-reed-18428_believe_it-is-we-believe-idle-to-hope-that-the-s_3132496.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/henry-reed-18428_believe_it-is-we-believe-idle-to-hope-that-the-s_3132496.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/henry-reed-18428_believe_it-is-we-believe-idle-to-hope-that-the-s_3132496.png) > “It is, we believe, Idle to hope that the simple stirrup-pump Can extinguish hell.” [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope alone cannot solve deep problems; practical action is needed to overcome great suffering. **In simple terms:** Hope isn’t enough; act. Key Takeaway Take concrete steps to address challenges. Themes hope action realism Mood reflective serious Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - social reform - personal crises - environmental issues - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy ethics pragmatism Questions to Reflect On - What practical steps can you take to address a major problem? - How does reliance on hope affect decision making? A Different Perspective Hope may be comforting but can delay necessary action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Idleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness/) [Stirrups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stirrups/) ## Related quotes > [I don't believe in idle time. Even in transition, you should still be in preparation. Can't expect for the future to fall in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-believe-in-idle-time-even-in-transition-you-should-still-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Survival starts by paying attention to what is close at hand and immediate. To look out with idle hope is tantamount to dreaming one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/survival-starts-by-paying-attention-to-what-is-close-at-hand-and/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“To look out with idle hope is tantamount to dreaming one’s life away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/to-look-out-with-idle-hope-is-tantamount-to-dreaming-one-s-life-away/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“We froze. Neither of us moving, simply staring at each other, wondering if the other was going to move first. "You are," he whispered,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-tawn-bergren/we-froze-neither-of-us-moving-simply-staring-at-each-other-wondering/) [Lisa Tawn Bergren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-tawn-bergren/) > [Betwixt the stirrup and the ground Mercy I asked, mercy I found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-camden/betwixt-the-stirrup-and-the-ground-mercy-i-asked-mercy-i-found/) [William Camden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-camden/) > [“The only stirrups I like are on a saddle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/the-only-stirrups-i-like-are-on-a-saddle/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [ \[Romans\] never made any improvements on the cavalry. And amazingly, when you read the sources, they couldn't make it because stirrups were not known… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/romans-never-made-any-improvements-on-the-cavalry-and-amazingly-when/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [A ranch hand, equivalent of the old gaucho, rides after an ostrich, swinging three-thonged and weighted baleadoras. Note how only the toe of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marden/a-ranch-hand-equivalent-of-the-old-gaucho-rides-after-an-ostrich/) Luis Marden > [I started Pilates. I'm the only guy in there. They plot before I get there: 'How can we make John look ridiculous?' Because every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stamos/i-started-pilates-i-m-the-only-guy-in-there-they-plot-before-i-get/) [John Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stamos/) > [Tell them I came, and no one answered, That I kept my word," he said. 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Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [He who speaks the truth must keep one foot in the stirrup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/he-who-speaks-the-truth-must-keep-one-foot-in-the-stirrup/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [In Paris, when certain people see you ready to set your foot in the stirrup, some pull your coat-tails, others loosen the buckle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/in-paris-when-certain-people-see-you-ready-to-set-your-foot-in-the/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Blind terror drove me on, with my flying stirrups whipping me into a frenzy. With no rider to carry I reached the kneeling riflemen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/blind-terror-drove-me-on-with-my-flying-stirrups-whipping-me-into-a/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [I'm stranded all alone in the gas station of love, and I have to use the self service pump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-stranded-all-alone-in-the-gas-station-of-love-and-i-have-to-use/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Henry Reed > [When we fall asleep, we withdraw our awareness from its hypnotic fascination with physical sensation, thereby enabling us to listen with our now awakening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/when-we-fall-asleep-we-withdraw-our-awareness-from-its-hypnotic/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams in 1900. It introduced the notion that there existed certain predictable and identifiable processes by which dreams were formed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/freud-published-the-interpretation-of-dreams-in-1900-it-introduced/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [Dream study impacts culture. We are put in touch with the inner poet who dreams. We hear our inner, subjective response to the outer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/dream-study-impacts-culture-we-are-put-in-touch-with-the-inner-poet/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [All human beings are interconnected, one with all other elements in creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/all-human-beings-are-interconnected-one-with-all-other-elements-in/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers: They call it 'easing the Spring.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/the-early-bees-are-assaulting-and-fumbling-the-flowers-they-call-it/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [We can slide it Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this Easing the spring. 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You apply your dream insights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/it-is-easier-to-learn-to-interpret-dreams-if-you-have-a-reason-to-use/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [As we get older we do not get any younger. Seasons return, and today I am fifty-five, And this time last year I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/as-we-get-older-we-do-not-get-any-younger-seasons-return-and-today-i/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [Because there is a larger awareness that transcends time and space, an awareness is available after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/because-there-is-a-larger-awareness-that-transcends-time-and-space-an/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [“Dreams have always expanded our understanding of reality by challenging our boundaries of the real, the possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/dreams-have-always-expanded-our-understanding-of-reality-by/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [Dreams seem to have a will of their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/dreams-seem-to-have-a-will-of-their-own/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) [Explore all 35 Henry Reed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? 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