Insecurity twists meanings and poisons trust. In a closely beleaguered city every sentry is a potential traitor.
Graham GreeneRead
Of two hearts one is always warm and one is always cold: the cold heart is more precious than diamonds: the warm heart has no value and is thrown away.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote contrasts the nature of emotional warmth and coldness, suggesting that a cold heart, though often perceived as less desirable, holds greater value.
In this quote, Graham Greene highlights the dichotomy between warmth and coldness in human emotions. He suggests that while a warm heart is often seen as nurturing and valuable, it can be taken for granted and disregarded. In contrast, a cold heart, associated with emotional detachment, is portrayed as rare and precious, much like diamonds, emphasizing that true worth may lie in what society overlooks or undervalues.
Themes
HeartsValueEmotionsWarmthColdness
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about emotional intelligence, this quote can illustrate the importance of recognizing and valuing different emotional expressions.
More from Graham Greene
All quotes →It seemed to Scobie that life was immeasurably long. Couldn’t the test of man have been carried out in fewer years? Couldn’t we have committed our first major sin at seven, have ruined ourselves for love or hate at ten, have clutched at redemption on a fifteen-year-old deathbed?
Graham GreeneRead
God is love. I don't say the heart doesn't feel a taste of it, but what a taste. The smallest glass of love mixed with a pint pot of ditch-water. We wouldn't recognize that love. It might even look like hate. It would be enough to scare us - God's love.
Graham GreeneRead
Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.
Graham GreeneRead
Champagne, if you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully.
Graham GreeneRead
Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.
Graham GreeneRead
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