The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
Elie WieselRead
Better that one heart be broken a thousand times in the retelling, he has decided, if it means that a thousand other hearts need not be broken at all.
Interpretation
What this quote means
It is better for one person to endure suffering so that many others can be spared the same pain.
Elie Wiesel's quote emphasizes the profound sacrifice that one individual may make for the greater good of many. It suggests that personal pain and heartache may be a necessary component in protecting others from suffering, highlighting the selflessness that can arise from love and compassion for humanity.
Themes
SacrificeLovePainCompassionSufferingHumanity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community service, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of helping others at a personal cost.
More from Elie Wiesel
All quotes →With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the angel of death.
Elie WieselRead
Certain things, certain events, seem inexplicable only for a time: up to the moment when the veil is torn aside.
Elie WieselRead
We're alone, but we are capable of communicating to one another both our loneliness and our desire to break through it. You say, 'I'm alone.' Someone answers, 'I'm alone too.' There's a shift in the scale of power. A bridge is thrown between the two abysses.
Elie WieselRead
No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has escaped the kingdom of night.
Elie WieselRead
My loyalty to my people, to our people, and to Israel comes first and prevents me from saying anything critical of Israel outside Israel… As a Jew I see my role as a melitz yosher, a defender of Israel: I defend even her mistakes… I must identify with whatever Israel does – even with her errors.
Elie WieselRead
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It’s a gift to joyfully recognize and accept our own smallness and ordinariness. Then you are free with nothing to live up to, nothing to prove, and nothing to protect. Such freedom is my best description of Christian maturity, because once you know that your “I” is great and one with God, you can ironically be quite content with a small and ordinary “I.” No grandstanding is necessary. Any question of your own importance or dignity has already been resolved once and for all and forever.
Richard RohrRead
Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead