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Who really said it

I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others

Written by Frederick Douglass 1818–1895 · Abolitionist, orator, writer & statesman
Verified Free to reuse

Douglass wrote this in his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845), Chapter V — reflecting on his move from Colonel Lloyd’s plantation to Baltimore as a “special interposition of divine Providence.” The wording is confirmed against the primary text.

Last verified 8 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others” Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845), ch. V

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Provenance

The documented source

Work
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Chapter
Chapter V
First published
Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, 1845
Status
Verified against the primary text

I may be deemed superstitious, and even egotistical, in regarding this event as a special interposition of divine Providence in my favor. But I should be false to the earliest sentiments of my soul, if I suppressed the opinion. I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and incur my own abhorrence.

The “event” Douglass means is his selection, as a boy, to leave Colonel Lloyd’s plantation for Baltimore — which he read as a providential turning point in his life.

Read the full Narrative (Chapter V) at Project Gutenberg

How we traced it

  • Wikiquote ↗ lists the line in its Sourced section, citing the 1845 Narrative, Chapter V.
  • We then confirmed it word-for-word against the primary text of the Narrative at Project Gutenberg ↗, where it sits in the Baltimore / “divine Providence” passage of Chapter V.
  • The popular circulated wording adds a stray “to” (“and to incur my own abhorrence”); Douglass’s printed text reads simply “and incur my own abhorrence.”
Public domain

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was first published in 1845, so the work — and this sentence — is firmly in the U.S. public domain.

Fact-check

One thing to get right

The attribution to Frederick Douglass is correct — this really is his line. The only thing worth flagging is a small wording drift in how it’s usually quoted.

Quote databases (BrainyQuote, Goodreads, etc.) Variant

Most reprints read “rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.” Douglass’s printed 1845 text has no second “to”: “and incur my own abhorrence,” per the Narrative ↗.

Genuine Douglass, from Chapter V of the 1845 Narrative ↗ — just quote it without the extra “to.”

Context

Why it mattered

The sentence comes at a hinge point in Douglass’s story: as a boy he was chosen to leave the plantation for Baltimore, a move he later saw as the opening that made his eventual freedom possible. Bracing for readers who would call him “superstitious” or “egotistical” for reading Providence into his own life, he plants his flag: he would rather risk ridicule than betray “the earliest sentiments of my soul.”

I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Character Truth Courage

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (full text)gutenberg.org

Project Gutenberg's complete 1845 text; the quote is in Chapter V.
Frederick Douglass — Wikiquoteen.wikiquote.org

Lists the line in its Sourced section, attributed to the 1845 Narrative, Chapter V.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass — Wikisourceen.wikisource.org

Transcribed public-domain edition for cross-checking chapter text.
Documenting the American South — Douglass Narrativedocsouth.unc.edu

UNC scholarly digital edition of the 1845 first edition.
Frederick Douglass — Library of Congressloc.gov

The Frederick Douglass Papers, primary archival collection and biography.

The author

About Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

1818–1895 · American abolitionist, orator, writer & statesman

Born into slavery in Maryland around 1818, Frederick Douglass escaped in 1838 and became the most influential Black abolitionist of the nineteenth century — a spellbinding orator, newspaper editor, and adviser to presidents. His 1845 Narrative was a bestselling autobiography that put a devastating first-person face on American slavery. He later expanded his life story in My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881).

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, 1845), ch. V.

MLA (9th ed.)

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Anti-Slavery Office, 1845.

APA (7th ed.)

Douglass, F. (1845). Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. Anti-Slavery Office.

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