--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The man who does good in doubt must have…" description: "\"“The man who does good in doubt must have so much more merit than one who does it in the bright certainty of belief. \"Other sheep I have which are not ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/morris-l-west-32113_doubt_the-man-who-does-good-in-doubt-must-have_2131608.jpg" --- # The man who does good in doubt must have so much more… ![“The man who does good in doubt must have so much more merit than one who does it in the bright certainty of belief. "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold..." A warning against the smugness of inherited faith.” quote by Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/morris-l-west-32113_doubt_the-man-who-does-good-in-doubt-must-have_2131608.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/morris-l-west-32113_doubt_the-man-who-does-good-in-doubt-must-have_2131608.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/morris-l-west-32113_doubt_the-man-who-does-good-in-doubt-must-have_2131608.jpg) > ““The man who does good in doubt must have so much more merit than one who does it in the bright certainty of belief. "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold..." A warning against the smugness of inherited faith.”” [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good deeds done in doubt are more commendable than those done with blind certainty. **In simple terms:** Doubtful goodness is rarer. Key Takeaway Value humility in belief. Themes faith morality humility Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - religious practice - ethical decision making - personal growth Key Concepts theology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How does doubt shape your moral choices? - When is certainty beneficial? A Different Perspective Blind certainty can also inspire positive action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief Sheep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-sheep-4396024/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Doubt Merit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt-merit-895770/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Giacomo-nerone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giacomo-nerone-71985/) [Good Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-doubt-3472047/) [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Warning Smugness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warning-smugness-4396025/) ## Related quotes > [“Even in sin, the act of love -done with love- is shadowed with divinity. Its conformity may be at fault, but its nature is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/even-in-sin-the-act-of-love-done-with-love-is-shadowed-with-divinity/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“We are ants on the carcass of the world, spawned out of nothing, going busily nowhere. One of us dies, the others crawl over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/we-are-ants-on-the-carcass-of-the-world-spawned-out-of-nothing-going/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“Each of us can walk only the path he sees at his own feet. Each of us is subject to the consequences of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/each-of-us-can-walk-only-the-path-he-sees-at-his-own-feet-each-of-us/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“I was lost a long time, without knowing it. Without the Faith, one is free, and that is a pleasant feeling at first. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/i-was-lost-a-long-time-without-knowing-it-without-the-faith-one-is/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [There is always that thing when you step up a level and you worry, am I going to be good enough? There's always doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stokes/there-is-always-that-thing-when-you-step-up-a-level-and-you-worry-am/) [Ben Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stokes/) > [“MY worthiness is all my doubt, His merit all my fear, Contrasting which, my qualities Do lowlier appear; Lest I should insufficient prove 5…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/my-worthiness-is-all-my-doubt-his-merit-all-my-fear-contrasting-which-2/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [My worthiness is all my doubt His Merit- all my fear- Contrasting which my quality Does however appear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-kalam/my-worthiness-is-all-my-doubt-his-merit-all-my-fear-contrasting-which/) [Abdul Kalam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-kalam/) > [Women are sometimes drawn in to believe against probability by the unwillingness they have to doubt their own merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/women-are-sometimes-drawn-in-to-believe-against-probability-by-the/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [“Humility and Trustworthiness are not rooted only in Presentation, Voice modulation or Nice Jorgan but in Actions and Intentions that speak louder than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venkat-gandhi/humility-and-trustworthiness-are-not-rooted-only-in-presentation/) [Venkat Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venkat-gandhi/) > [“But, like all indulgences that are valued not just for their product but for their process, the sento will never entirely disappear. For in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/but-like-all-indulgences-that-are-valued-not-just-for-their-product/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more holy, the more humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-more-holy-the-more-humble/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [It's a great lesson in modesty that you realize you're illiterate in a field that you think you're an expert in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/it-s-a-great-lesson-in-modesty-that-you-realize-you-re-illiterate-in/) [Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You just have to stay humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-jackson/you-just-have-to-stay-humble/) [Lamar Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-jackson/) ## More by Morris L. West > [“If prayer fails I am in a greater darkness yet, not knowing whether I have presumed too much or believed too little.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/if-prayer-fails-i-am-in-a-greater-darkness-yet-not-knowing-whether-i/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“I was lost a long time, without knowing it. Without the Faith, one is free, and that is a pleasant feeling at first. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/i-was-lost-a-long-time-without-knowing-it-without-the-faith-one-is/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“One solved nothing by waving the commandments like a bludgeon at people's heads. There was no point in shouting damnation at a man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/one-solved-nothing-by-waving-the-commandments-like-a-bludgeon-at/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“I don't believe in miracles, only unexplained facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/i-don-t-believe-in-miracles-only-unexplained-facts/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“I believe in saints as I believe in sanctity. I believe in miracles as I believe in God, who can suspend the laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/i-believe-in-saints-as-i-believe-in-sanctity-i-believe-in-miracles-as/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“I can't tell you why God made you the way you are any more than I can tell you why he's planted a carcinoma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/i-can-t-tell-you-why-god-made-you-the-way-you-are-any-more-than-i-can/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“He spoke a kind of ecclesiastical jargon; a debased rhetoric that explained nothing but brought the truth into disrepute. It begged all the questions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/he-spoke-a-kind-of-ecclesiastical-jargon-a-debased-rhetoric-that/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“Each of us can walk only the path he sees at his own feet. Each of us is subject to the consequences of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/each-of-us-can-walk-only-the-path-he-sees-at-his-own-feet-each-of-us/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“Look at yourself! You're a priest. You know damn well that if I were setting out to make a girl at this moment instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/look-at-yourself-you-re-a-priest-you-know-damn-well-that-if-i-were/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“I feel the life slipping out of me. When the pain comes, I cry out, but there is no prayer in it, only fear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/i-feel-the-life-slipping-out-of-me-when-the-pain-comes-i-cry-out-but/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“We are ants on the carcass of the world, spawned out of nothing, going busily nowhere. One of us dies, the others crawl over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/we-are-ants-on-the-carcass-of-the-world-spawned-out-of-nothing-going/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“One has to abandon altogether the search for security, and reach out to the risk of living with both arms. One has to court…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/one-has-to-abandon-altogether-the-search-for-security-and-reach-out/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“Even in sin, the act of love -done with love- is shadowed with divinity. Its conformity may be at fault, but its nature is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/even-in-sin-the-act-of-love-done-with-love-is-shadowed-with-divinity/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [“Other priests, he knew, found an intense pleasure in the raw, salty dialect of peasant conversation. They picked up pearls of wisdom and experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/other-priests-he-knew-found-an-intense-pleasure-in-the-raw-salty/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) > [ “\[The writer\] has to be the kind of man who turns the world upside down and says, lookit, it looks different, doesn’t it?” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-l-west/the-writer-has-to-be-the-kind-of-man-who-turns-the-world-upside-down/) [Morris L. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) [Explore all 16 Morris L. West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-l-west/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“The man who does good in doubt must have so much more merit than one who does it in the bright certainty of belief. \"Other sheep I have which are not of this fold...\" A warning against the smugness of inherited faith.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Morris L. 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