--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That would be the death of anyone - to…" description: "\"That would be the death of anyone - to recognize false hopes with a certainty. One mustn't know that. If it is offered, refuse!\" — Jesse Ball" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0a/jesse-ball-10640_certainty_that-would-be-the-death-of-anyone-to-rec_623643.jpg" --- # That would be the death of anyone - to recognize false… ![“That would be the death of anyone - to recognize false hopes with a certainty. One mustn't know that. If it is offered, refuse!” quote by Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0a/jesse-ball-10640_certainty_that-would-be-the-death-of-anyone-to-rec_623643.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0a/jesse-ball-10640_certainty_that-would-be-the-death-of-anyone-to-rec_623643.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0a/jesse-ball-10640_certainty_that-would-be-the-death-of-anyone-to-rec_623643.jpg) > “That would be the death of anyone - to recognize false hopes with a certainty. One mustn't know that. If it is offered, refuse!” [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing false hope with certainty leads to despair; better to avoid such knowledge and reject it when presented. **In simple terms:** False hope is dangerous; reject it. Key Takeaway Avoid believing false certainty. Themes hope despair knowledge rejection Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - personal crisis - relationship breakdown - career disappointment - political disillusionment Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever cling to false hopes? - How can you safely reject harmful certainty? A Different Perspective Denial may prevent confronting harsh realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [False hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-hope/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ## Related quotes > [False hopes are more dangerous than fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/false-hopes-are-more-dangerous-than-fears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want to hold out false hopes that the - by some magic moment, that things will turn around in a couple months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/i-don-t-want-to-hold-out-false-hopes-that-the-by-some-magic-moment/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“He didn't lie he just gave her false hopes~”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-gambhir/he-didn-t-lie-he-just-gave-her-false-hopes/) [Tanya Gambhir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-gambhir/) > [There is no worse mistake in public leadership than to hold out false hopes soon to be swept away. The British people can face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-is-no-worse-mistake-in-public-leadership-than-to-hold-out-false/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Necessity, especially in politics, often occasions false hopes, false reasonings, and a system of measures, correspondingly erroneous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/necessity-especially-in-politics-often-occasions-false-hopes-false/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [“I tried to cheer her up, and apparently succeeded in some degree, before the walk was over; but in the very act my conscience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/i-tried-to-cheer-her-up-and-apparently-succeeded-in-some-degree/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“To keep false hopes is to prolong misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/to-keep-false-hopes-is-to-prolong-misery/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Having false hopes are worse than none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/having-false-hopes-are-worse-than-none/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [Don't force anyone to like You hoping that later they'll love you… Such a relationship will never last..., instead give You false hopes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nushra/don-t-force-anyone-to-like-you-hoping-that-later-they-ll-love-you/) [Nushra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nushra/) > [Everyone has a price but you cant persuade me with false hopes and dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-has-a-price-but-you-cant-persuade-me-with-false-hopes-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Mr Deacon used to say nothing spread more ultimate gloom at a party than an exuberant manner which has roused false hopes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/mr-deacon-used-to-say-nothing-spread-more-ultimate-gloom-at-a-party/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Life's over-exaggerated ? No, its simple, False hopes make it sophisticated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniyal-butt/life-s-over-exaggerated-no-its-simple-false-hopes-make-it/) [Daniyal Butt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniyal-butt/) > [“Probably nothing in the world arouses more false hopes than the first four hours of a diet. Dan Bennett”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hancock-md-rita/probably-nothing-in-the-world-arouses-more-false-hopes-than-the-first/) Hancock MD, Rita > [I'm afraid to fall with your words again. We've been there, you were once changed and you even managed to forget me. Now, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessel-jane-zozobrado/i-m-afraid-to-fall-with-your-words-again-we-ve-been-there-you-were/) [Jessel Jane Zozobrado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessel-jane-zozobrado/) > [“There is no worse course in leadership than to hold out false hopes soon to be swept away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/there-is-no-worse-course-in-leadership-than-to-hold-out-false-hopes/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) ## More by Jesse Ball > [“-Lara is a weasel. I've always hated her. The only happy week I had as a child was when she fell from the roof…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/lara-is-a-weasel-i-ve-always-hated-her-the-only-happy-week-i-had-as-a/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [I'd say writing is easier for me now than it once was, but I do less of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/i-d-say-writing-is-easier-for-me-now-than-it-once-was-but-i-do-less/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [“Our knowledge about ourselves is our least reliable knowledge. Yet, so thoroughly do we ordinarily champion our own cause that it is acknowledged effective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/our-knowledge-about-ourselves-is-our-least-reliable-knowledge-yet-so/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [Not that believing such things has anything to do with whether they are true. You see that, don't you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/not-that-believing-such-things-has-anything-to-do-with-whether-they/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [“We are born in this cemetery, but must not despair. -Piet Soron, 1847”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/we-are-born-in-this-cemetery-but-must-not-despair-piet-soron-1847/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [I have a different purpose in writing each novel. Some of them seem more similar than others, but the purposes are always different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/i-have-a-different-purpose-in-writing-each-novel-some-of-them-seem/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [Americans are genuinely and profoundly anti-intellectual. They are especially so in their pleasure-seeking, which is epically banal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/americans-are-genuinely-and-profoundly-anti-intellectual-they-are/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [Sunday was always the best of days for being the self you had intended to be, but were not, for one reason or another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/sunday-was-always-the-best-of-days-for-being-the-self-you-had/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [I don't think anything needs to happen in a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/i-don-t-think-anything-needs-to-happen-in-a-book/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [“Can you imagine? That you can say something, offhand, and it can matter, it can really matter to someone else? Can you imagine what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/can-you-imagine-that-you-can-say-something-offhand-and-it-can-matter/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [One can't say how one behaved or why, really. Such situations, they are far more complex than any either/or proposition. It is simplistic to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/one-can-t-say-how-one-behaved-or-why-really-such-situations-they-are/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [“One cultivates one's life, one's friends, one's means, one's hopes. One goes from place to place, from triumph to triumph, in search of ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/one-cultivates-one-s-life-one-s-friends-one-s-means-one-s-hopes-one/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [“The whole thing about people living on in memory is a crock of shit. The best you can do is try to remember what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/the-whole-thing-about-people-living-on-in-memory-is-a-crock-of-shit/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [I believe in discovering the love that exists and then trying to understand it. Not to invent a love and try to make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/i-believe-in-discovering-the-love-that-exists-and-then-trying-to/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [Much of my work has been done in first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/much-of-my-work-has-been-done-in-first-person/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) [Explore all 63 Jesse Ball quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) ## More Certainty quotes > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [In the mental disturbance and effort of writing, what sustains you is the certainty that on every page there is something left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/in-the-mental-disturbance-and-effort-of-writing-what-sustains-you-is/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As a businessman, I know that businesses need certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-foster/as-a-businessman-i-know-that-businesses-need-certainty/) [Bill Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-foster/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [Every single person who is a member of our party deserves to have certainty. They deserve to know that my attention and focus is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamie-paul/every-single-person-who-is-a-member-of-our-party-deserves-to-have/) [Annamie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annamie-paul/) > [The significance and volume of repairs that are needed across the country demand that we give state and local governments the long-term certainty they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-graves/the-significance-and-volume-of-repairs-that-are-needed-across-the/) [Sam Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-graves/) > [“Death is the one great certainty in life. That’s what my dad used to say. Nothing else is certain. Not love. Not happiness. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-gray/death-is-the-one-great-certainty-in-life-that-s-what-my-dad-used-to/) [Mila Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-gray/) > [ \[I\]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-at-certainty-without-doubt-and/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [Finding someone that trusted my vision helped me find certainty in who I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/finding-someone-that-trusted-my-vision-helped-me-find-certainty-in/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) [Browse all 1,776 Certainty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That would be the death of anyone - to recognize false hopes with a certainty. One mustn't know that. 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