Grief quotes
2.1K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
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Browse quotes that often appear alongside grief — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
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"Know that death comes to everyone, and that wealth will sometimes be acquired, sometimes lost. Whatever griefs mortals suffer by divine chance, whatever destiny you have, endure it and do not complain. But it is right to improve it as much as you can, and remember this: Fate does not give very many of these griefs to good people."
"My grief lies all within, And these external manners of lament Are merely shadows to the unseen grief That swells with silence in the tortured soul."
"The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing...that is a friend who cares."
"I will not say, do not weep, for not all tears are an evil."
"I think losing a loved one must be a little like losing a leg. First there is the shock, then the anesthetic, and the painkillers; the attention of doctors and nurses, flowers and cards and visits from friends. But sooner or later you have to learn to walk without it."
"No time to grieve for roses when the forests are burning."
"Tears water our growth."
"The thirst for powerful sensations takes the upper hand both over fear and over compassion for the grief of others."
"It is only after the deepest darkness that the greatest light can come; it is only after extreme grief that the greatest joy can come."
"There were thirst and hunger, and you were the fruit. There were grief and the ruins, and you were the miracle."
"When the shadow of death blots out my joy And erases the face of the sun Give me strength to endure, hope to believe That living and dying are one."
"Behind all art is an element of desire...Love of life, of existence, love of another human being, love of human beings is in some way behind all art — even the most angry, even the darkest, even the most grief-stricken, and even the most embittered art has that element somewhere behind it. Because how could you be so despairing, so embittered, if you had not had something you loved that you lost?"
"Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength."
"Were we to choose our leaders on the basis of their reading experience and not their political programs, there would be much less grief on earth. I believe ... that for someone who has read a lot of Dickens to shoot his like in the name of an idea is harder than for someone who has read no Dickens."
"If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. That is the lesson, and that lesson alone will save you a lot of grief."
"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear."
"Instead of weeping when a tragedy occurs in a songbird's life, it sings away its grief. I believe we could well follow the pattern of our feathered friends."
"And I can't be running back and fourth forever between grief and high delight."
"You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it."
"And wilt thou have me fashion into speech The love I bear thee, finding words enough, And hold the torch out, while the winds are rough, Between our faces, to cast light on each? - I dropt it at thy feet. I cannot teach My hand to hold my spirits so far off From myself--me--that I should bring thee proof In words, of love hid in me out of reach. Nay, let the silence of my womanhood Commend my woman-love to thy belief, - Seeing that I stand unwon, however wooed, And rend the garment of my life, in brief, By a most dauntless, voiceless fortitude, Lest one touch of this heart convey its grief."
