What is more mortifying than to feel that you have missed the

Logan Pearsall Smith, a man of sharp wit and deep reflection, once wrote: “What is more mortifying than to feel that you have missed the plum for want of courage to shake the tree?” In this single question, he exposes one of the most painful truths of the human heart — that our greatest regrets are not born of what we have done, but of what we have feared to do. To “miss the plum” is to watch opportunity pass while one hesitates; to “lack the courage to shake the tree” is to surrender one’s destiny to timidity. It is a lament not for failure, but for the failure to act — for the life unlived, the love unspoken, the dream never dared.

The origin of this thought lies in Smith’s keen observation of human nature. A philosopher of modern manners and moral reflections, he often explored the quiet tragedies of ordinary life — not the dramatic falls of the bold, but the slow fading of the hesitant. He saw that most men and women live not in defeat, but in abandonment of their own potential. They stand beneath the tree of life, watching its fruit ripen, fearing to reach out, fearing to disturb the branches — and so they starve amidst abundance. His question pierces the heart because it is not rhetorical; it is a mirror, forcing us to confront our own inaction and the cowardice that hides behind caution.

In the simple image of the plum tree, Smith offers a universal parable. The tree symbolizes opportunity — the rich harvest of life’s possibilities — while the act of shaking it represents initiative, boldness, and the willingness to risk failure. The one who dares to shake the tree may not always catch the fruit, but the one who stands still will never taste it. So many souls, paralyzed by fear of judgment or loss, let their seasons pass unused. And when the moment is gone — when the branch is bare and the fruit has fallen to the earth — they are left only with the bitterness of what might have been.

History is filled with those who understood this truth and lived it fiercely. Consider Christopher Columbus, who sailed westward into an ocean of uncertainty. The world called him mad; even his own sailors feared they would fall off the edge of the earth. But he dared to shake the tree of the unknown, and in doing so, discovered not only new lands but the boundless capacity of human courage. Had he waited for certainty, had he bowed to fear, the map of the world — and the history of mankind — would have remained smaller. His story reminds us that all progress, all creation, all triumph, begins with the trembling of the hand that dares to reach.

Yet Smith’s words also speak not only to the heroes of history but to the quiet, everyday moments where courage is demanded. How many loves are lost because someone was afraid to speak? How many talents go unused because someone feared to fail? How many lives remain half-lived because their owners waited for permission that never came? The mortification Smith describes is the torment of the soul that wakes too late — the soul that realizes it was not fate or misfortune that denied it happiness, but its own lack of courage. For the greatest punishment of fear is not pain — it is emptiness.

The ancients knew this well. Aristotle taught that courage is the first of virtues because it makes all others possible. Without courage, there can be no wisdom, no justice, no love — only safety without purpose. The coward seeks to avoid loss, but in doing so, loses everything that makes life rich. The bold, though they may stumble, live with the dignity of having tried. Even failure is noble when it springs from action, for it leaves no poison of regret behind. It is not the bruises of daring that haunt the heart — it is the pale hands that never reached at all.

So, my listener, take this teaching to heart: shake the tree. Whatever your plum may be — a dream, a love, a chance, a change — do not let it rot unclaimed while you wait for perfect certainty. The branches may resist, the fruit may fall, but you will have lived with the fire of courage, not the chill of hesitation. Speak the word you have held back. Begin the work you have delayed. Dare the world to test your strength. For one day, when the tree stands bare and your time has passed, you will know that even if the fruit escaped your grasp, you were brave enough to reach for it — and that, in itself, is the sweetest triumph of all.