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These are the times that try men's souls.
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“These are the times that try men's souls.”

Thomas Paine

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Source
The American Crisis No. I
Date
1776
Meaning

Meaning of “These are the times that try men's souls.”

Crisis reveals commitment because principles become costly to maintain precisely when fear, fatigue, and uncertainty make retreat easier.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Opening of The American Crisis No. I; Paine addresses perseverance during a difficult stage of the American Revolution.

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Themes

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Courage Quotes About Acting Despite FearFailureFearFreedomHard TimesHealingHope Quotes About Possibility in Uncertain TimesInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityLeadershipMotivation For LifeMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistenceNever Give UpPatiencePerseverance Quotes About Sustained EffortPositive Quotes About a Constructive OutlookResilience Quotes About Recovery & AdaptationShortStrengthLoyaltySoulStruggle
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Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light.
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“Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light.”

John Milton · Paradise Lost · 1667
Voice: Fictional character · Satan
Meaning & context

Recovery from a dark condition is pictured as difficult and lengthy rather than instant.

Source details

Paradise Lost (1667), Book II, lines 432–433; Satan addresses the infernal council before undertaking the journey out of Hell. The line describes the epic’s literal route from Hell toward light and remains character speech, not a general promise of recovery.

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You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.
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“You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.”

Frederick Douglass · Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass · 1845
Meaning & context

The line marks a reversal from imposed dehumanization toward recovered agency, dignity, resistance, and self-possession.

Source details

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; the sentence introduces a turning point in Douglass’s account of resistance.

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Fortune has often in the past got the upper hand of you, and yet you have not surrendered, but have leaped up and stood your ground still more eagerly.
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“Fortune has often in the past got the upper hand of you, and yet you have not surrendered, but have leaped up and stood your ground still more eagerly.”

Seneca · Moral letters to Lucilius · c. 65
Meaning & context

Past recovery is evidence of present capacity: being struck down by fortune is different from surrendering to it.

Source details

Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 13, section 3, Richard M. Gummere translation.

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No right way is easy in this rough world.
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“No right way is easy in this rough world.”

John Muir · Stickeen · 1909
Meaning & context

Difficulty does not automatically mean the chosen course is wrong; worthwhile action can require courage and persistence through genuinely hard conditions.

Source details

Stickeen; Muir says this while attempting a dangerous glacier crossing, tying the line to immediate physical risk rather than abstract motivational language.

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