Scruples (noun) : an ethical consideration or principle that inhibits action
Source: Merriam Webster
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scruple)
Found in “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne paragraph 15
“Friend,” said the other, exchanging his slow pace for a full stop, “having kept convenant by meeting thee here, it is my purpose not to return whence I came. I have scruples, touching the matter thou wot’st of.”
Young Goodman Brown has a journey with his companion at night, even though his wife Faith doesn’t want him to travel “this night, … of all nights in the year!” (paragraph 2) However he already meets up with his fellow-traveller and tells him that he is hesitating because he thinks this journey is not morally right.
