--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Occasionally he stumbled over the truth…" description: "\"“Occasionally he stumbled over the truth, but hastily picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened.”\" — Winston Churchill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/winston-churchill-95_ignorance_occasionally-he-stumbled-over-the-truth_2670292.jpg" --- # Occasionally he stumbled over the truth, but hastily… ![“Occasionally he stumbled over the truth, but hastily picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened.” quote by Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/winston-churchill-95_ignorance_occasionally-he-stumbled-over-the-truth_2670292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/winston-churchill-95_ignorance_occasionally-he-stumbled-over-the-truth_2670292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/winston-churchill-95_ignorance_occasionally-he-stumbled-over-the-truth_2670292.jpg) > ““Occasionally he stumbled over the truth, but hastily picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened.”” [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledges occasional missteps but stresses quick recovery and moving forward. **In simple terms:** Mistakes happen; keep going. Key Takeaway Recover swiftly and continue. Themes resilience humility growth Mood determined pragmatic Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - public speaking - leadership - personal setbacks - team projects Key Concepts Self‑compassion learning from error Questions to Reflect On - What strategies help you recover quickly? - When is it better to pause and reflect? A Different Perspective May downplay seriousness of errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Whatever is produced in haste goes hastily to waste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/whatever-is-produced-in-haste-goes-hastily-to-waste/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [We do not hug our miracles close. We put them hastily away, preferring the commonplace to live with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-oursler/we-do-not-hug-our-miracles-close-we-put-them-hastily-away-preferring/) [Fulton Oursler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-oursler/) > [There's no workman, whatsoever he be, That may both work well and hastily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/there-s-no-workman-whatsoever-he-be-that-may-both-work-well-and/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Jamie doesn't like to do anything hastily, and I like to do everything incredibly hastily. So therein you have the dichotomy of our patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-savage/jamie-doesn-t-like-to-do-anything-hastily-and-i-like-to-do-everything/) [Adam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-savage/) > [“But I spoke hastily. We must not be hasty. I have become too hot. I must cool myself and think; for it is easier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/but-i-spoke-hastily-we-must-not-be-hasty-i-have-become-too-hot-i-must/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [Do not believe hastily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/do-not-believe-hastily/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Ther nis no werkman, whatsoevere he be, That may bothe werke wel and hastily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/ther-nis-no-werkman-whatsoevere-he-be-that-may-bothe-werke-wel-and/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Books are for the most part willfully and hastily written, as parts of a system to supply a want real or imagined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/books-are-for-the-most-part-willfully-and-hastily-written-as-parts-of/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What is done hastily cannot be done prudently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/what-is-done-hastily-cannot-be-done-prudently/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [“One should not hastily make decisions without first looking to signs from above.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vd/one-should-not-hastily-make-decisions-without-first-looking-to-signs/) VD > [It is contrary to the will of God to eat delicate food hastily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-zhao/it-is-contrary-to-the-will-of-god-to-eat-delicate-food-hastily/) Zhang Zhao > [“You expected too much of me’ I told him, and he bowed his head. ‘I don’t know where you brought your grand ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-barrie/you-expected-too-much-of-me-i-told-him-and-he-bowed-his-head-i-don-t/) [J.M. Barrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-barrie/) > [One is so apt to cheapen a thing when one tries hastily to put it into words, and ever afterward it is never quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-sawyer/one-is-so-apt-to-cheapen-a-thing-when-one-tries-hastily-to-put-it/) [Ruth Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-sawyer/) > [“I do,” Alice hastily replied; “at least—at least I mean what I say—that’s the same thing, you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/i-do-alice-hastily-replied-at-least-at-least-i-mean-what-i-say-that-s/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [“Often, we speak too hastily. We claim ideals and embrace images and dreams of fantasy. We make promises without thinking about the consequences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-d-marie/often-we-speak-too-hastily-we-claim-ideals-and-embrace-images-and/) [Elizabeth D. Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-d-marie/) ## More by Winston Churchill > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [If I had been an Italian I am sure that I should have been whole-heartedly with you from the start to finish in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/if-i-had-been-an-italian-i-am-sure-that-i-should-have-been-whole/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Never, never, never give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/never-never-never-give-up/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most times he will pick himself up and carry on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/man-will-occasionally-stumble-over-the-truth-but-most-times-he-will/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [God alone knows how great it is. All I hope is that it is not too late. I am very much afraid that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/god-alone-knows-how-great-it-is-all-i-hope-is-that-it-is-not-too-late/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [When you're 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you're 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you're 60 you realize no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-you-re-20-you-care-what-everyone-thinks-when-you-re-40-you-stop/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Writing a book is an adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/writing-a-book-is-an-adventure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/all-men-make-mistakes-but-only-wise-men-learn-from-their-mistakes/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [People who are not prepared to do unpopular things and defy the clamor of the multitude are not fit to be ministers in time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/people-who-are-not-prepared-to-do-unpopular-things-and-defy-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [To meet Roosevelt with all his buoyant sparkle, his iridescence, was like opening a bottle of champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/to-meet-roosevelt-with-all-his-buoyant-sparkle-his-iridescence-was/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-am-always-ready-to-learn-although-i-do-not-always-like-being-taught/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There are plenty of good ideas, if only they can be backed with the power of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-are-plenty-of-good-ideas-if-only-they-can-be-backed-with-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) [Explore all 1,366 Winston Churchill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) John P Lintz Sr > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Occasionally he stumbled over the truth, but hastily picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Winston Churchill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/occasionally-he-stumbled-over-the-truth-but-hastily-picked-himself-up/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/occasionally-he-stumbled-over-the-truth-but-hastily-picked-himself-up/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/winston-churchill-95_ignorance_occasionally-he-stumbled-over-the-truth_2670292.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/winston-churchill-95_ignorance_occasionally-he-stumbled-over-the-truth_2670292.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/winston-churchill-95_ignorance_occasionally-he-stumbled-over-the-truth_2670292.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Occasionally he stumbled over the truth, but hastily picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had…” — Winston Churchill", "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": "Winston Churchill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Occasionally he stumbled over the truth,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/occasionally-he-stumbled-over-the-truth-but-hastily-picked-himself-up/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/occasionally-he-stumbled-over-the-truth-but-hastily-picked-himself-up/#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 } } ] } ```