Lydia Davis Quotes

All action is vicarious faith.

The proof that one truly believes is in action.

I think that feeling that if one believed absolutely in any cause, then one must have the confidence, the self-certainty, to go through with that particular course of action.

Confidence: The feeling that makes one believe a man, even when one knows that one would lie in his place

What I believe is not what I say I believe; what I believe is what I do. I used to say that I believed it was important to tell people about Jesus, but I never did. A friend kindly explained that if I do not introduce people to Jesus, then I don't believe Jesus is an important person. It doesn't matter what I say. We live for what we believe.

Believing requires action.

Simply believing in the existence of God is not exactly what I would call a commitment. After all, even the devil believes that God exists. Believing has to change the way we live.

To believe is to be strong. Doubt cramps energy. Belief is power.

We have to believe it enough that it changes how we live.

Knowing the 'right answers' does not mean we believe them. To believe them means to act as though they're true.

It's better to throw a theoretically poorer pitch whole-heartedly, than to throw the so-called right pitch with feeling of doubt-doubt that's it's right, or doubt that you can make it behave well at that moment. You've got to feel sure you're doing the right thing-sure that you want to throw the pitch you're going to throw.

if you don't believe in yourself, you'll have some difficulty in making other people believe in you.

Do you believe in what you do? Every day? It turns out that belief happens to be a brilliant strategy.

If you can't fully believe in your ideas, it very quickly communicates to a group of actors who need something to hold onto. They need to believe that whatever criticism, whatever comment is received, is meant.

If you must tell me your opinions, tell me what you believe in. I have plenty of doubts of my own.

We are all wrong so often that it amazes me that we can have any conviction at all over the direction of things to come. But we must.

He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions.

Faith is not belief. Belief is passive. Faith is active.

Faith is an act of rational choice, which determines us to act as if certain things were true, and in the confident expectation that they will prove to be true.

Know why you believe, understand what you believe, and possess a reason for the faith that is in you.

Nor is it that truly a belief at all which has not some influence upon the actions of him who holds it.

The worst possible thing in the world is to have someone who doesn't believe in you.

Doubt can only be removed by action.

You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth of falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn't you then first discover how much you really trusted it?

I don't believe. I know.