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Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie.
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“Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie.”

William Shakespeare

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Source
All’s Well That Ends Well
Date
c. 1604
Local voice
Fictional character · Helena
Meaning

Meaning of “Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie.”

Before assuming rescue must come from outside, the line asks what capacity, choice, or effort is already available within.

Source context

Where does it come from?

All’s Well That Ends Well, Act I, Scene 1; Helena resolves to act rather than ascribe every possibility to fate. Verified against Wikisource’s 1910 facsimile transcription of the 1623 First Folio (folio spelling “Our remedies oft in our selues do lye”); direct evidence resolves to the reviewed Act I transcription.

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Speaker context

Why the local voice matters

All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 1, Scene 1. Helena speaks this while resolving to act rather than treat her situation as fixed by fate.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

Confidence Quotes About Ability & Self-TrustHealingHope Quotes About Possibility in Uncertain TimesIdentityIndependenceInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityLoveMotivation For LifeMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistencePositive Quotes About a Constructive OutlookSelf LoveSelf RelianceSelf TrustShortActionControlWords of Wisdom: Practical & Philosophical Counsel
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On the occasion of every accident that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use.
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“On the occasion of every accident that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use.”

Epictetus · Enchiridion · c. 125 CE
Meaning & context

Instead of beginning with what an event has taken away, the practice asks which capacity—endurance, restraint, patience, or judgment—can still be exercised.

Source details

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Self-trust is the essence of heroism.
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“Self-trust is the essence of heroism.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Essays, First Series — Heroism · 1841
Meaning & context

Heroic action begins with enough trust in one’s judgment to act under uncertainty rather than waiting for unanimous approval.

Source details

Essays, First Series, essay VIII, ‘Heroism,’ Project Gutenberg #2944. ‘Self-trust is the essence of heroism’ occurs as Emerson defines the heroic soul's defiance of falsehood and wrong. It remains Transcendentalist moral and conduct-of-life rhetoric rather than a clinical personality measure or empirical prediction of courageous behavior.

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Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.
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“Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Self-Reliance · 1841
Meaning & context

Emerson argues that mature character requires enough independence to resist conformity when conviction points elsewhere.

Source details

Essays, First Series, essay II, “Self-Reliance,” Project Gutenberg #2944. “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist” follows Emerson’s claim that society conspires against the manhood of its members through conformity. The represented Gutenberg witness prints a comma after “man,” while the frozen catalog quotation omits that punctuation; the wording is otherwise the same. It remains Transcendentalist moral rhetoric about self-trust and independence rather than a universal instruction to reject social norms or expertise.

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To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.
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“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

Oscar Wilde · The Soul of Man under Socialism · 1891
Meaning & context

Wilde separates deliberate individual living from merely passing through existence, making self-realization and chosen purpose part of what it means to live fully.

Source details

The Soul of Man under Socialism; Wilde develops individualism as the freedom to form a life from within rather than conform to social expectation.

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