He hath a good judgment who is apt to distrust his own.

Understand the thought

Meaning in plain English

Good judgement includes readiness to question your own conclusion. The saying values self-checking, without requiring constant indecision or treating confidence as proof that someone has failed to think carefully.

What the words are saying

The person praised is willing to distrust their judgement rather than assume the first conclusion must be right. A useful reading turns that doubt into a concrete check: what evidence supports the view, what could challenge it and whose perspective has been missed? Once those questions are addressed, a decision may still be needed. The proverb does not ask someone to abandon every conclusion whenever another person disagrees. Nor does habitual uncertainty alone establish wisdom. Its point is openness to correction, with confidence based on reasons that can be examined rather than on a refusal to consider being mistaken.

Everyday example

An organiser reviews a proposed timetable with someone who uses the venue differently and adjusts a conflict they had not noticed.

When to use it

Use it when a conclusion would benefit from deliberate checking and openness to correction.

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Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.