Optimism is a kind of heart stimulant — the digitalis of failure.

Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915), the Roycroft founder and a prolific essayist in the American Arts-and-Crafts milieu, often wrote in brisk, epigrammatic sentences aimed at self-reliance and morale. This line belongs to his turn-of-the-century habit of borrowing the language of business and medicine to make psychological points for a popular audience. “Digitalis” (a heart medication derived from foxglove) was a familiar term in early-20th-century discourse, so the metaphor would have landed immediately: optimism is not a naïve denial of trouble but a tonic administered when one’s spirits falter. The remark fits Hubbard’s broader project of encouraging persistence and productive action after setbacks.

Hubbard frames optimism as a practical intervention rather than a temperament. By calling it “the digitalis of failure,” he suggests that defeat can weaken the will the way illness weakens the heart, and that optimism functions like a stimulant—restoring rhythm, strength, and the capacity to continue. The metaphor also implies dosage and purpose: optimism is most valuable when circumstances are discouraging, not when success makes cheerfulness effortless. In this view, optimism is less a rosy worldview than a disciplined, life-preserving response to adversity, enabling renewed effort and preventing collapse into cynicism or paralysis.