Heart, we will forget him, You and I, tonight! You must forget the warmth he gave, I will forget the light.
Emily DickinsonRead
God is not so wary as we, else He would give us no friends, lest we forget Him! The charms of the heaven in the bush are superseded, I fear, by the heaven in the hand, occasionally.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the idea that God provides us with friends to remind us of His presence, cautioning against valuing earthly pleasures over divine connection.
In this quote, Emily Dickinson suggests that God, unlike humans, does not take offense easily; otherwise, He might choose to withhold friends from us to ensure we remain focused on Him. The second part warns us about the temptation of preferring tangible joys ('heaven in the hand') over the deeper, spiritual fulfillment that comes from a relationship with the divine ('heaven in the bush'). It prompts reflection on the balance between earthly and spiritual relationships.
Themes
FriendshipDivineRelationshipsSpiritualityTemptation
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of relationships, one could quote Dickinson to highlight how friendships remind us of our spiritual values.
More from Emily Dickinson
All quotes →I held a jewel in my fingers And went to sleep. The day was warm, and winds were prosy; I said: "'T will keep." I woke and chid my honest fingers,— The gem was gone; And now an amethyst remembrance Is all I own.
Emily DickinsonRead
I'll tell you how the sun rose, a ribbon at a time. The steeples swam in amethyst, The news like squirrels ran. The hills untied their bonnets, The bobolinks begun. Then I said softly to myself, "That must have been the sun!
Emily DickinsonRead
My best Acquaintances are those With Whom I spoke no Word
Emily DickinsonRead
This is the Hour of Lead- Remembered, if outlived, As freezing persons, recollect the Snow- First-Chill-then Stupor- then the letting go---
Emily DickinsonRead
Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.
Emily DickinsonRead
Similar quotes
As widowers proverbially marry again, so a man with the habit of friendship always finds new friends.
George SantayanaRead
Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me.
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
If we were all given by magic the power to read each other’s thoughts, I suppose the first effect would be almost all friendships would be dissolved; the second effect, however, might be excellent, for a world without any friends would be felt to be intolerable, and we should learn to like each other without needing a veil of illusion to conceal from ourselves that we did not think each other absolutely perfect.
Bertrand RussellRead
Whoever understands how to do a kindness when he fares well would be a friend better than any possession.
SophoclesRead
A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
King SolomonRead
Today I know this: when it comes time to take stock, the most painful wound is that of broken friendships; and there is nothing more foolish than to sacrifice a friendship to politics.
Milan KunderaRead