“ When an uninstructed multitude attempts to see with its eyes, it is exceedingly apt to be deceived. ”
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (1850). copy citation
| Author | Nathaniel Hawthorne |
|---|---|
| Source | The Scarlet Letter |
| Topic | eyes multitude |
| Date | 1850 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25344/25344-h/25344-h.htm |
Context
“And the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale's best discerning friends, as we have intimated, very reasonably imagined that the hand of Providence had done all this, for the purpose—besought in so many public, and domestic, and secret prayers—of restoring the young minister to health. But—it must now be said—another portion of the community had latterly begun to take its own view of the relation betwixt Mr. Dimmesdale and the mysterious old physician. When an uninstructed multitude attempts to see with its eyes, it is exceedingly apt to be deceived. When, however, it forms its judgment, as it usually does, on the intuitions of its great and warm heart, the conclusions thus attained are often so profound and so unerring, as to possess the character of truths supernaturally revealed.”
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