Every island to a child is a treasure island.
P. D. JamesRead
It is difficult to be generous-minded to those we have greatly harmed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Being generous towards those we've hurt can be challenging. It requires a deep sense of compassion and understanding.
This quote by P. D. James highlights the inherent difficulty in being kind and forgiving towards individuals we have wronged in significant ways. It suggests that the emotional burden of having caused harm creates barriers to generosity and understanding, even when such tendencies might be morally desirable. It encourages reflection on our relationships and the complexities of human interactions, particularly when they involve pain and hurt.
Themes
GenerosityForgivenessRelationshipsCompassionUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about rebuilding trust after a conflict, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of generosity in forgiveness.
More from P. D. James
All quotes →If from infancy you treat children as gods, they are liable in adulthood to act as devils.
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I believe that political correctness can be a form of linguistic fascism, and it sends shivers down the spine of my generation who went to war against fascism.
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What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give.
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Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.
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It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.
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