Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
the size of a misfortune is not determinable by an outsider’s measurement of it but only by the measurements applied to it by the person specially affected by it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A person's experience of misfortune is subjective and can only be truly understood by them.
This quote by Mark Twain emphasizes the individuality of suffering and adversity. It suggests that external observers cannot possibly gauge the true impact of a misfortune on someone, as only the affected individual possesses the context and personal understanding necessary for such an evaluation. This highlights the importance of empathy and the recognition that everyone experiences hardship differently based on their unique circumstances and perceptions.
Themes
MisfortuneSubjectivitySufferingEmpathyPerspective
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth, one might quote Twain to highlight how each individual's struggles are unique.
More from Mark Twain
All quotes →The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
Mark TwainRead
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
Mark TwainRead
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Mark TwainRead
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
Mark TwainRead
In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
Mark TwainRead
Similar quotes
In truth the Church is too unique to prove herself unique. For most popular and easy proof is by parallel; and here there is no parallel.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead
Psychoanalysis has a degree of unreliability about it. You will never know whether you've found the truth. You may find a subjective truth, but you don't know.
Eric KandelRead
The ultimate enemy of Democracy is not the drug dealer of the crooked politician or the crazed skinhead. The ultimate enemy is the New King that has become so powerful it can murder its own citizens with impunity.
Gerry SpenceRead
Man prefers to blame himself for all possible sins and crimes rather than come to the conclusion that God is capable of the most flagrant injustice. I still blush every time I think of the way God makes fun of human beings, his favorite toys.
Elie WieselRead
The basic thing nobody asks is why do people take drugs of any sort? Why do we have these accessories to normal living to live? I mean, is there something wrong with society that's making us so pressurized, that we cannot live without guarding ourselves against it?
John LennonRead
Auguries of innocence "The emmet's inch and eagle's mile Make lame philosophy to smile. He who doubts from what he sees Will ne'er believe, do what you please.
William BlakeRead