Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion a child's loss of a doll and a king's loss of a crown are events of the same size.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- All grief is significant; a child's loss and a king's loss are equally large in proportion.
- In plain terms
- Every loss is big, no matter who suffers.
- What can you take from it?
- Grief should be taken seriously regardless of status.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How can we respect differing scales of loss?
- What role does status play in grieving?
Another view
Equating vastly different impacts may ignore context.
More from Mark Twain
The Erie railroad kills 23 to 46; the other 845 railroads kill an average of one-third of a man each; and the rest of that million, amounting in the aggregate …
Permalink to quote #130 Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India.
Permalink to quote #132 In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country; in a republic it is the common voice of the people. Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own…
Permalink to quote #129
Related quotes
... loss either teaches you to persist in the face of suffering, or hardens you into a bitter cynic. Sometimes, it does a little of both.
Grace SlickGrace Slick quote #11 Wherever one finds oneself inclined to bitterness, it is a sign of emotional failure: a larger heart, and a greater self-restraint, would put a calm autumnal s…
Bertrand RussellBertrand Russell quote #60 Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion a child's loss of a doll and a king's loss of a crown are events of the same si…
Samuel Langhorne ClemensSamuel Langhorne Clemens quote #131