--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let him who gropes painfully in darkness…" description: "\"Let him who gropes painfully in darkness or uncertain light, and prays vehemently that the dawn may ripen into day, lay this precept well to heart: \"Do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/thomas-carlyle-207_darkness_let-him-who-gropes-painfully-in-darkness_1195989.png" --- # Let him who gropes painfully in darkness or uncertain… ![“Let him who gropes painfully in darkness or uncertain light, and prays vehemently that the dawn may ripen into day, lay this precept well to heart: "Do the duty which lies nearest to thee," which thou know to be a duty! Thy second duty will already have become clearer.” quote by Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/thomas-carlyle-207_darkness_let-him-who-gropes-painfully-in-darkness_1195989.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/thomas-carlyle-207_darkness_let-him-who-gropes-painfully-in-darkness_1195989.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/thomas-carlyle-207_darkness_let-him-who-gropes-painfully-in-darkness_1195989.png) > “Let him who gropes painfully in darkness or uncertain light, and prays vehemently that the dawn may ripen into day, lay this precept well to heart: "Do the duty which lies nearest to thee," which thou know to be a duty! Thy second duty will already have become clearer.” [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Act on the most immediate duty you recognize; later duties become clearer as you fulfill the first. **In simple terms:** Do what’s most pressing now. Key Takeaway Prioritize immediate responsibilities. Themes responsibility ethics clarity Mood thoughtful determined Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal decision making - leadership - everyday tasks Key Concepts moral duty sequential action Questions to Reflect On - What immediate duty are you neglecting? - How does fulfilling one duty reveal the next? A Different Perspective May overlook longer‑term goals if focus is too narrow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dawn/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [Do the duty which lieth nearest to thee! Thy second duty will already have become clearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/do-the-duty-which-lieth-nearest-to-thee-thy-second-duty-will-already/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Do the duty which lies nearest to you, the second duty will then become clearer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/do-the-duty-which-lies-nearest-to-you-the-second-duty-will-then/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty; I woke, and found that life was Duty. Was thy dream then a shadowy lie? Toil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-sturgis-hooper/i-slept-and-dreamed-that-life-was-beauty-i-woke-and-found-that-life/) [Ellen Sturgis Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-sturgis-hooper/) > [You will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/you-will-always-find-those-who-think-they-know-what-is-your-duty-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [We all know our duty better than we discharge it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-randolph/we-all-know-our-duty-better-than-we-discharge-it/) [John Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-randolph/) > [Not only do we have a right to know, we have a duty to know what our Government is doing in our name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/not-only-do-we-have-a-right-to-know-we-have-a-duty-to-know-what-our-2/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [“you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-bryans/you-will-always-find-those-who-think-they-know-what-is-your-duty/) [Bruce Bryans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-bryans/) > [Our time is fixed, and all our days are number'd; How long, how short, we know not:—this we know, Duty requires we calmly wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-blair/our-time-is-fixed-and-all-our-days-are-number-d-how-long-how-short-we/) [Robert Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-blair/) > [From the right to know and the duty to inquire flows the obligation to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/from-the-right-to-know-and-the-duty-to-inquire-flows-the-obligation/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/those-who-have-the-privilege-to-know-have-the-duty-to-act/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I know General Grant better than any other person in the country can know him. It was my duty to study him, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-m-stanton/i-know-general-grant-better-than-any-other-person-in-the-country-can/) [Edwin M. Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-m-stanton/) > [I know of only one duty, and that is to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-know-of-only-one-duty-and-that-is-to-love/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [There is nothing in the universe that I fear, but that I shall not know all my duty, or shall fail to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lyon/there-is-nothing-in-the-universe-that-i-fear-but-that-i-shall-not/) Mary Lyon > [“They always seemed to know everything, but now there is only me, and it seems I know nothing, not even my duty. How can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/they-always-seemed-to-know-everything-but-now-there-is-only-me-and-it/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [It's your duty to fly the airplane. If you get killed in it, you don't know anything about it anyway. Duty is paramount. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-yeager/it-s-your-duty-to-fly-the-airplane-if-you-get-killed-in-it-you-don-t/) [Chuck Yeager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-yeager/) ## More by Thomas Carlyle > [O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/o-thou-that-pinest-in-the-imprisonment-of-the-actual-and-criest/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/no-sadder-proof-can-be-given-by-a-man-of-his-own-littleness-than/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The sincere alone can recognize sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-sincere-alone-can-recognize-sincerity/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well; for as a whole city is affected by the licentious passions and vices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/be-a-pattern-to-others-and-then-all-will-go-well-for-as-a-whole-city/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The glory of a workman, still more of a master workman, that he does his work well, ought to be his most precious possession;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-glory-of-a-workman-still-more-of-a-master-workman-that-he-does/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Insurrection, never so necessary, is a most sad necessity; and governors who wait for that to instruct them are surely getting into the fatalest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/insurrection-never-so-necessary-is-a-most-sad-necessity-and-governors/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Let Time and Chance combine, combine! Let Time and Chance combine! The fairest love from heaven above, That love of yours was mine, My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/let-time-and-chance-combine-combine-let-time-and-chance-combine-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Thought will not work except in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/thought-will-not-work-except-in-silence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The public is anold woman.Let her maunderand mumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-public-is-anold-woman-let-her-maunderand-mumble/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Does not every true man feel that he is himself made higher by doing reverence to what is really above him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/does-not-every-true-man-feel-that-he-is-himself-made-higher-by-doing/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The press is the fourth estate of the realm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-press-is-the-fourth-estate-of-the-realm/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) [Explore all 917 Thomas Carlyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let him who gropes painfully in darkness or uncertain light, and prays vehemently that the dawn may ripen into day, lay this precept well to heart: \"Do the duty which lies nearest to thee,\" which thou know to be a duty! 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