--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To leap across an abyss, one is better…" description: "\"To leap across an abyss, one is better served by faith than doubt.\" — William James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-james-228_abyss_to-leap-across-an-abyss-one-is-better-se_240864.png" --- # To leap across an abyss, one is better served by faith… ![“To leap across an abyss, one is better served by faith than doubt.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-james-228_abyss_to-leap-across-an-abyss-one-is-better-se_240864.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-james-228_abyss_to-leap-across-an-abyss-one-is-better-se_240864.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-james-228_abyss_to-leap-across-an-abyss-one-is-better-se_240864.png) > “To leap across an abyss, one is better served by faith than doubt.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faith is more effective than doubt when confronting vast unknowns. **In simple terms:** Belief helps bridge huge gaps. Key Takeaway Choose belief over paralysis. Themes faith doubt psychology Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - making big decisions - overcoming fear - risk taking Key Concepts pragmatism existential risk confidence Questions to Reflect On - When is doubt more useful? - How do you balance faith and reason? A Different Perspective Faith without evidence can be reckless. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Faith doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith-doubt/) [Leap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leap/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [The "through-and-through" universe seems to suffocate me with its infallible impeccable all-pervasiveness. Its necessity , with no possibilities; its relations, with no subjects, make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-through-and-through-universe-seems-to-suffocate-me-with-its/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Doubt brings us closer to God, because we are in constant communication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-farmer/doubt-brings-us-closer-to-god-because-we-are-in-constant-communication/) Viola Farmer > [“We hope and dream; somewhere we find faith. Then doubt spreads through us as a dark liquid stream, fed not so much by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-wallace/we-hope-and-dream-somewhere-we-find-faith-then-doubt-spreads-through/) [Randall Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-wallace/) > [I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-mizner/i-respect-faith-but-doubt-is-what-gets-you-an-education/) [Wilson Mizner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-mizner/) > [The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-opposite-of-faith-is-not-doubt-but-certainty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What if the choice isn’t between certainties, between this faith and that, but between faith and doubt? Between renouncing the mystery and embracing it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/what-if-the-choice-isn-t-between-certainties-between-this-faith-and/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“Faith and doubt cannot reside in the same mind at the same time, for one would dispel the other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/faith-and-doubt-cannot-reside-in-the-same-mind-at-the-same-time-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The lack of faith is not doubt. It is certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/the-lack-of-faith-is-not-doubt-it-is-certainty/) [Abigail Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [“In response to a letter regarding the writer's lack of religious belief: The lack of faith is not doubt. It is certainty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/in-response-to-a-letter-regarding-the-writer-s-lack-of-religious/) [Abigail van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [The opposite of faith is not doubt, it’s certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-opposite-of-faith-is-not-doubt-it-s-certainty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For every trip there will be worry, every worry there will be faith, for every bit of faith there will be doubt, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-hoff/for-every-trip-there-will-be-worry-every-worry-there-will-be-faith/) Abigail Van Hoff > [“There can be no faith without doubt. No strength without temptation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/there-can-be-no-faith-without-doubt-no-strength-without-temptation/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“There can be no faith without doubt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/there-can-be-no-faith-without-doubt/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“Invariably the failure of organized religions, by which they cut themselves off from mystery and therefore from sanctity, lies in the attempt to impose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/invariably-the-failure-of-organized-religions-by-which-they-cut/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Feed your faith and doubt will starve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/feed-your-faith-and-doubt-will-starve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Abyss quotes > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-organization-seemed-to-be-in-free-fall-indulging-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [In the end things must be as they are and have always been--the great things remain for the great, the abysses for the profound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-the-end-things-must-be-as-they-are-and-have-always-been-the-great/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) > [I look into my heart and see the abyss looking back at me.' 'I won't let you fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-look-into-my-heart-and-see-the-abyss-looking-back-at-me-i-won-t-let/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/there-is-no-drop-of-water-in-the-ocean-not-even-in-the-deepest-parts/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“But first whom shall we send In search of this new world, whom shall we find Sufficient? Who shall tempt, with wand'ring feet The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/but-first-whom-shall-we-send-in-search-of-this-new-world-whom-shall/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Many women don’t know what orgasm is. Many men don’t know was total orgasm is. Many only achieve a local orgasm, a genital orgasm;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-women-don-t-know-what-orgasm-is-many-men-don-t-know-was-total/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear not. For fear itself is fed by fear, and all fears pass. Did no one tell you so? Come take my hand, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/fear-not-for-fear-itself-is-fed-by-fear-and-all-fears-pass-did-no-one/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [We belong to an age where apocalypse is our daily bread, coffee's black, and we know we're part of the abyss. Red Spider White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/we-belong-to-an-age-where-apocalypse-is-our-daily-bread-coffee-s/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) [Browse all 625 Abyss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To leap across an abyss, one is better served by faith than doubt.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/to-leap-across-an-abyss-one-is-better-served-by-faith-than-doubt/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abyss" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/to-leap-across-an-abyss-one-is-better-served-by-faith-than-doubt/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-james-228_abyss_to-leap-across-an-abyss-one-is-better-se_240864.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-james-228_abyss_to-leap-across-an-abyss-one-is-better-se_240864.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-james-228_abyss_to-leap-across-an-abyss-one-is-better-se_240864.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To leap across an abyss, one is better served by faith than doubt.” — William James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To leap across an abyss, one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/to-leap-across-an-abyss-one-is-better-served-by-faith-than-doubt/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/to-leap-across-an-abyss-one-is-better-served-by-faith-than-doubt/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```