--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I delay so long, because I fear; because…" description: "\"“I delay so long, because I fear; because my whole life hangs in balance on a single word; because what I have near me now may never be more near me af..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/r-d-blackmore-31201_delay_i-delay-so-long-because-i-fear-because-m_2335555.jpg" --- # I delay so long, because I fear; because my whole life… ![“I delay so long, because I fear; because my whole life hangs in balance on a single word; because what I have near me now may never be more near me after, though more than all the world, or than a thousand worlds, to me.” quote by R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/r-d-blackmore-31201_delay_i-delay-so-long-because-i-fear-because-m_2335555.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/r-d-blackmore-31201_delay_i-delay-so-long-because-i-fear-because-m_2335555.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/r-d-blackmore-31201_delay_i-delay-so-long-because-i-fear-because-m_2335555.jpg) > ““I delay so long, because I fear; because my whole life hangs in balance on a single word; because what I have near me now may never be more near me after, though more than all the world, or than a thousand worlds, to me.”” [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker hesitates because a single decisive word could change everything, and the fear of losing what is dear makes them stall. **In simple terms:** Fear of a crucial decision stalls action. Key Takeaway Act before fear freezes you. Themes fear decision consequence balance Mood anxious reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - relationship decisions - financial investments - creative projects Key Concepts existential dread personal agency risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - What single word could change your life? - How can you trust uncertainty? A Different Perspective Overthinking can paralyze progress despite the need for action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [ When a man's life is at stake no delay is too long. \[Lat., Nulla unquam de morte cunctatio longa est.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/when-a-man-s-life-is-at-stake-no-delay-is-too-long-lat-nulla-unquam/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [The greatest thing in life is to die young - but delay it as long as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-greatest-thing-in-life-is-to-die-young-but-delay-it-as-long-as/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [If the question was did we want to delay the revelation?... Yeah, you want to delay it as long as possible because the audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mapother/if-the-question-was-did-we-want-to-delay-the-revelation-yeah-you-want/) [William Mapother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mapother/) > [A MISTAE IS LIKE A SACRIFICE YOU TRY TO DELAY IT AS LONG AS POSSIBLE BUT ITS GONNA HAPPEN.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/youness/a-mistae-is-like-a-sacrifice-you-try-to-delay-it-as-long-as-possible/) [YOUNESS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/youness/) > [“Quoting Father Seraphim: Our life hangs only by a breath. It is the thread that links you to the Father, the Source, which brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-yves-leloup/quoting-father-seraphim-our-life-hangs-only-by-a-breath-it-is-the/) [Jean-Yves Leloup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-yves-leloup/) > [Life hangs as nothing in the scale against dear Liberty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/life-hangs-as-nothing-in-the-scale-against-dear-liberty/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [In my Lucia's absence Life hangs upon me, and becomes a burden; I am ten times undone, while hope, and fear, And grief, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/in-my-lucia-s-absence-life-hangs-upon-me-and-becomes-a-burden-i-am/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“She was not granted the luxury of forgetting her lower middle-class existence where life hangs by an unseen thread to every hope and where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madhu-vajpayee/she-was-not-granted-the-luxury-of-forgetting-her-lower-middle-class/) [Madhu Vajpayee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madhu-vajpayee/) > [“It is strange how intricately life hangs in the scales, and how unrelated events and single decisions alter the outcomes. Some remote land ten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-niles/it-is-strange-how-intricately-life-hangs-in-the-scales-and-how/) [Sara Niles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-niles/) > [“The isolation was necessary. He didn’t like people seeing him this way. It was better if they perceived him as the strong, capable man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-ellison/the-isolation-was-necessary-he-didn-t-like-people-seeing-him-this-way/) [J.T. Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-ellison/) > [Let them hate so long as they fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-accius/let-them-hate-so-long-as-they-fear/) [Lucius Accius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-accius/) > [“...and the break would never come as long as fear can turn to wrath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-the-break-would-never-come-as-long-as-fear-can-turn-to-wrath/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Let the hate so long as they fear”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caligula/let-the-hate-so-long-as-they-fear/) [Caligula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caligula/) > [Let people hate you so long as they fear you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-accius/let-people-hate-you-so-long-as-they-fear-you/) [Lucius Accius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-accius/) > [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More by R.D. Blackmore > [“I cannot go through all my thoughts, so as to make them clear to you, nor have I ever dwelt on things, to shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/i-cannot-go-through-all-my-thoughts-so-as-to-make-them-clear-to-you/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [“The love of all things was upon me, and a softness to them all, and a sense of having something even such as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/the-love-of-all-things-was-upon-me-and-a-softness-to-them-all-and-a/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [“The motives of mankind are plainer than the motions they produce.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/the-motives-of-mankind-are-plainer-than-the-motions-they-produce/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [Knowing Master Huckaback to be a man of his word, as well as one who would have others so, I was careful to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/knowing-master-huckaback-to-be-a-man-of-his-word-as-well-as-one-who/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [...because I rant not, neither rave of what I feel, can you be so shallow as to dream that I feel nothing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/because-i-rant-not-neither-rave-of-what-i-feel-can-you-be-so-shallow/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > ['Curio vult advisari,' as the lawyers say; which means, 'Let us have another glass, and then we can think about it.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/curio-vult-advisari-as-the-lawyers-say-which-means-let-us-have/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [It is sweet to see how soon a spring becomes a rill, and a rill runs on into a rivulet, and a rivulet swells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/it-is-sweet-to-see-how-soon-a-spring-becomes-a-rill-and-a-rill-runs/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [“There is nothing in this world to fear, nothing to revere or trust, nothing even to hope for; least of all, is there aught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/there-is-nothing-in-this-world-to-fear-nothing-to-revere-or-trust/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [May be we are not such fools as we look. But though we be, we are well content, so long as we may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/may-be-we-are-not-such-fools-as-we-look-but-though-we-be-we-are-well/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [“There was power all around, that power and that goodness, which make us come, as it were, outside our bodily selves, to share them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/there-was-power-all-around-that-power-and-that-goodness-which-make-us/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [Take to the study of the law. Possession is nine points of it, which thou hast of me. Self-possession is the tenth...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/take-to-the-study-of-the-law-possession-is-nine-points-of-it-which/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [“But during those two months of fog . . . the saddest and the heaviest thing was to stand beside the sea. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/but-during-those-two-months-of-fog-the-saddest-and-the-heaviest-thing/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [“But a sigh is not (like a yawn) infectious; and we are all more prone to be sent to sleep than to sorrow by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/but-a-sigh-is-not-like-a-yawn-infectious-and-we-are-all-more-prone-to/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [“All the beauty of the spring went for happy men to think of all the increase of the year was for other eyes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/all-the-beauty-of-the-spring-went-for-happy-men-to-think-of-all-the/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) > [Only a pint at breakfast-time, and a pint and a half at eleven o'clock, and a quart or so at dinner. And then no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-blackmore/only-a-pint-at-breakfast-time-and-a-pint-and-a-half-at-eleven-o-clock/) [R.D. Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) [Explore all 16 R.D. Blackmore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-blackmore/) ## More Delay quotes > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Even speed, when we are anxious, seems like delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/even-speed-when-we-are-anxious-seems-like-delay/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [Delay always heeds danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/delay-always-heeds-danger/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [Right is the eternal sun; the world cannot delay its coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/right-is-the-eternal-sun-the-world-cannot-delay-its-coming/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/circumstances-may-cause-interruptions-and-delays-but-never-lose-sight/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [Systems program building is an entropy-decreasing process, hence inherently metastable. Program maintenance is an entropy-increasing process, and even its most skillful execution only delays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/systems-program-building-is-an-entropy-decreasing-process-hence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I take no pleasure in seeing DeLay swing gently in the wind. But the thing I believe in the most is ethics. If someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/i-take-no-pleasure-in-seeing-delay-swing-gently-in-the-wind-but-the/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [Procrastination comes in two types. Some of us procrastinate in order to pursue restful activities - spending time in bed, watching TV - while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-levitin/procrastination-comes-in-two-types-some-of-us-procrastinate-in-order/) [Daniel Levitin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-levitin/) > [Everyone I have spoken with so far recognises the need for the IRA to respond positively and every has said sooner is better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-reiss/everyone-i-have-spoken-with-so-far-recognises-the-need-for-the-ira-to/) [Mitchell Reiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-reiss/) > [If the politics of inaction and delay that have triumphed in this country continues for another decade, then Planetary Purgatory in the likely future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-romm/if-the-politics-of-inaction-and-delay-that-have-triumphed-in-this/) [Joseph J. Romm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-romm/) > [“Delay is never denial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/delay-is-never-denial/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We are being conditioned, as a population, to never wait, to never delay our gratification, to accept thoughtless, constant consumption as the new norm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/we-are-being-conditioned-as-a-population-to-never-wait-to-never-delay/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) Browse all 636 Delay quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I delay so long, because I fear; because my whole life hangs in balance on a single word; because what I have near me now may never be more near me after, though more than all the world, or than a thousand worlds, to me.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "R.D. 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