When a man bleeds inwardly, it is a dangerous thing for himself; but when he laughs inwardly, it bodes no good to other people.
Interpretation
Internal suffering can be harmful to oneself, while internal joy can negatively affect those around them.
This quote by Charles Dickens explores the duality of inner emotional states and their implications. It suggests that when a person is silently suffering, it can be a threat to their well-being, hinting at the potential for personal crises. Conversely, an internal amusement or joy that is not shared with others may suggest a lack of empathy or concern for the feelings of those around them, indicating that joy can also have its downsides if it disconnects one from the shared human experience.
In practice
In a discussion about mental health awareness, this quote can highlight the importance of expressing inner feelings.
I recollected one story there was in the village, how that on a certain night in the year (it might be that very night for anything I knew), all the dead people came out of the ground and sat at the heads of their own graves till morning.
A silent look of affection and regard when all other eyes are turned coldly away-the consciousness that we possess the sympathy and affection of one being when all others have deserted us-is a hold, a stay, a comfort, in the deepest affliction, which no wealth could purchase, or power bestow.
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
There are not a few among the disciples of charity who require, in their vocation, scarcely less excitement than the votaries of pleasure in theirs.
You might, from your appearance, be the wife of Lucifer,” said Miss Pross, in her breathing. “Nevertheless, you shall not get the better of me. I am an Englishwoman.
Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man's pockets.
And therefore I looked down into the great pity of a person’s life on this earth. I don’t mean that we all end up dead, that’s not the great pity. I mean that he couldn’t tell me what he was dreaming, and I couldn’t tell him what was real.
Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite.
I believe every chess player senses beauty, when he succeeds in creating situations, which contradict the expectations and the rules, and he succeeds in mastering this situation.
Understand that we are all co-creators of our respective destinies.
The true aim of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. As for fasts, and vigils, and prayer, and almsgiving, and every good deed done for Christ's sake, they are only means of acquiring the Holy Spirit of God.
Inhumanity, n. One of the signal and characteristic qualities of humanity.
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