Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Love all God’s creation, both the whole and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of light. Love the animals, love the plants, love each separate thing. If thou love each thing thou wilt perceive the mystery of God in all; and when once thou perceive this, thou wilt thenceforward grow every day to a fuller understanding of it: until thou come at last to love the whole world with a love that will then be all-embracing and universal.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of loving all aspects of creation and recognizing the divine presence in everything.
Fyodor Dostoevsky's quote suggests that by loving every element of the natural world, from the smallest grain of sand to the vastness of the universe, one can begin to understand the divine mystery of God. This love is not merely an emotion but a profound recognition that connects us to all existence, nurturing a universal love that encompasses everything and leads to deeper spiritual growth and understanding.
Themes
LoveCreationUnderstandingGodNatureUniversal
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about environmental awareness, one could use this quote to emphasize the interconnectedness of all living things and the need for compassion towards nature.
More from Fyodor Dostoevsky
All quotes →What if, when this fog scatters and flies upward, the whole rotten, slimey city goes with it, rises with the fog and vanishes like smoke.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
But do you understand, I cry to him, do you understand that if you have the guillotine in the forefront, and with such glee, it's for the sole reason that cutting heads off is the easiest thing, and having an idea is difficult!
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
...to return to their 'native soil,' as they say, to the bosom, so to speak, of their mother earth, like frightened children, yearning to fall asleep on the withered bosom of their decrepit mother, and to sleep there for ever, only to escape the horrors that terrify them.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Similar quotes
Kindness is not something that we put on for certain occasions, like a piece of jewelry; rather, it is an attribute of God's that He desires to reproduce in us.
Charles StanleyRead
I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.
Muhammad AliRead
We live on the flat, on the level, and yet - and so - we aspire. Groundlings, we can sometimes reach as far as the gods. Some soar with art, others with religion; most with love. But when we soar, we can also crash. There are few soft landings. We may find ourselves bouncing across the ground with leg-fracting force, dragged towards some foreign railway line. Every love story is a potential grief story. If not at first, then later. If not for one, then for the other. Sometimes, for both.
Julian BarnesRead
The first kiss is stolen by the man; the last is begged by the woman.
H. L. MenckenRead
And, if you love me, as I think you do, let's kiss and part, for we have much to do
William ShakespeareRead
Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.
George WashingtonRead