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 equally significant, regardless of the size of the loss, because proportion applies universally.
- In plain terms
- Grief is equally real, big or small.
- What can you take from it?
- Respect all forms of loss.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you respond to small versus large losses?
- Can grief be measured?
Another view
Some losses have broader impact than others.
More from Samuel Langhorne Clemens
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
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…
Mark TwainMark Twain quote #131 The light has gone out of my life.
Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt quote #1 Between grief and nothing I will take grief.
William FaulknerWilliam Faulkner quote #2