What is this quote and where is it from?

January 1, 2008 3:33 PM

Looking for the source of a quote that goes something like "i always knew the right thing to do. without fail, i always knew. but i never did it. because it was too damn hard."

i heard or read this somewhere years ago and really liked it, but i can't seem to find it anywhere. i believe it was written, but it could also be a line from a movie or a play.

i don't remember it exactly but the "without fail, i always knew" line is definitely in there somewhere.

i've tried every quote site and google combination i can think of, but no luck. can anyone point me in the right direction?

posted by theseampsgoto11 to writing & language (6 comments total)

As far as I know it was Scent of a Woman.
posted by Green With You at 3:38 PM on January 1, 2008

From Scent of a Woman:

"Now I have come to the cross-roads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew, but I never took it. You know why? It was too damn hard. Now here's Charlie. He's come to the cross-roads. He has chosen a path. It's the right path. It's a path made of principle that leads to character. Let him continue on his journey."
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:44 PM on January 1, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

That's it! Thank you!
posted by theseampsgoto11 at 3:52 PM on January 1, 2008

Also:

"We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable." — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
posted by futility closet at 4:41 PM on January 1, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

A nice quote from our own Ambrosia Voyeur from one of the Mr. Rogers threads on the blue: "The hardest thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing."
posted by scody at 6:27 PM on January 1, 2008

Related:

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." -- Norman Schwarzkopf
posted by ludwig_van at 6:50 PM on January 1, 2008