--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a…" description: "\"Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place it in the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there. It will do you quite the same s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b2/aesop-1073_fancy_pray-do-not-grieve-so-but-go-and-take-a_482192.jpg" --- # Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place… ![“Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place it in the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there. It will do you quite the same service; for when the gold was there, you had it not, as you did not make the slightest use of it.” quote by Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b2/aesop-1073_fancy_pray-do-not-grieve-so-but-go-and-take-a_482192.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b2/aesop-1073_fancy_pray-do-not-grieve-so-but-go-and-take-a_482192.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b2/aesop-1073_fancy_pray-do-not-grieve-so-but-go-and-take-a_482192.jpg) > “Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place it in the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there. It will do you quite the same service; for when the gold was there, you had it not, as you did not make the slightest use of it.” [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Neglecting valuable resources leads to missed opportunities; effort without use yields no benefit **In simple terms:** Unused wealth is wasted Key Takeaway Utilize resources wisely Themes resourcefulness loss value Mood reflective motivational Type didactic inspirational When to use this quote - personal finance - business investment - environmental conservation - time management Key Concepts economics human nature Questions to Reflect On - What valuable asset are you overlooking? - How can you turn idle resources into benefit? A Different Perspective Even abundant resources can be ignored due to complacency ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fancy/) [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Gold Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold-did-1334294/) [Gold Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold-lying-4143794/) [Grieve Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieve-stone-4143796/) [Grieving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieving/) [Holes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holes/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Pray Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pray-grieve-4143795/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Service Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service-gold-4143797/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [If my efforts have led to greater success than usual, this is due, I believe, to the fact that during my wanderings in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-koch/if-my-efforts-have-led-to-greater-success-than-usual-this-is-due-i/) [Robert Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-koch/) > [The mine owners did not find the gold, they did not mine the gold, they did not mill the gold, but by some weird…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-haywood/the-mine-owners-did-not-find-the-gold-they-did-not-mine-the-gold-they/) [Bill Haywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-haywood/) > [“So much simpler, to kill for gold. It did not matter what anyone thought about that. The only rules he abided were those of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-t-mckinstry/so-much-simpler-to-kill-for-gold-it-did-not-matter-what-anyone/) [F.T. McKinstry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-t-mckinstry/) > [Those who grieve frequently find themselves alone. Missed is the laughter of children, the commotion of teenagers, and the tender, loving concern of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/those-who-grieve-frequently-find-themselves-alone-missed-is-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [In general satire, every man perceives A slight attack, yet neither fears nor grieves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crabbe/in-general-satire-every-man-perceives-a-slight-attack-yet-neither/) [George Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crabbe/) > [I never could keep a promise. I do not blame myself for this weakness, because the fault must lie in my physical organization. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-could-keep-a-promise-i-do-not-blame-myself-for-this-weakness/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“There's always a last time. If you could remember every last time, you'd never stop grieving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/there-s-always-a-last-time-if-you-could-remember-every-last-time-you/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [The longer I live, the more it grieves me to see man, who occupies his supreme place for the very purpose of imposing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-longer-i-live-the-more-it-grieves-me-to-see-man-who-occupies-his/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Birth, life, death is a cycle. And they're all beautiful, you celebrate all of them. Animals do grieve, but they move on. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/birth-life-death-is-a-cycle-and-they-re-all-beautiful-you-celebrate/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [These are the intensities that one cannot live with, that he has to outgrow if he wants to survive. But who can help grieving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/these-are-the-intensities-that-one-cannot-live-with-that-he-has-to/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [... I think we grieve forever, but that goes for love too, fortunately for us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher/i-think-we-grieve-forever-but-that-goes-for-love-too-fortunately-for/) [M. F. K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher/) > [When we don't get what we want, there's a legitimate grieving, and then the spiritual journey truly begins, because not getting what we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/when-we-don-t-get-what-we-want-there-s-a-legitimate-grieving-and-then/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“...what happens when you return and find nothing but a hollowed shell, shingles and floor, walls and echoes and the light that lead you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-nothing-but-a-hollowed-shell/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [This is a proof of a well-trained mind, to rejoice in what is good and to grieve at the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/this-is-a-proof-of-a-well-trained-mind-to-rejoice-in-what-is-good-and/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) ## More by Aesop > [“Lay not the blame on me, O sailor, but on the winds. By nature I am as calm and safe as the land itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/lay-not-the-blame-on-me-o-sailor-but-on-the-winds-by-nature-i-am-as/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/it-is-in-vain-to-expect-our-prayers-to-be-heard-if-we-do-not-strive/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Beware of a wolf in sheep's clothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/beware-of-a-wolf-in-sheep-s-clothing/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Better a long life of toil than a short one of ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/better-a-long-life-of-toil-than-a-short-one-of-ease/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Don't let your special character and values, the secret that you know and no one else does, the truth - don't let that get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/don-t-let-your-special-character-and-values-the-secret-that-you-know/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Every man carries two bags about him, one in front and one behind, and both are full of faults. The bag in front contains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/every-man-carries-two-bags-about-him-one-in-front-and-one-behind-and/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [It pays to be content with your lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/it-pays-to-be-content-with-your-lot/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/be-content-with-your-lot-one-cannot-be-first-in-everything/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Equals make the best friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/equals-make-the-best-friends/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [once upon a time all the rivers combined to protest against the action of the sea in making their waters salt. "When we come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/once-upon-a-time-all-the-rivers-combined-to-protest-against-the/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [In union there is strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/in-union-there-is-strength/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“Be content with your lot; once cannot be first in everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/be-content-with-your-lot-once-cannot-be-first-in-everything/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [False friends leave you in times of trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/false-friends-leave-you-in-times-of-trouble/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/better-beans-and-bacon-in-peace-than-cakes-and-ale-in-fear/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“The Sun is bad enough even while he is single, drying up our marshes with his heat as he does. But what will become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-sun-is-bad-enough-even-while-he-is-single-drying-up-our-marshes/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) [Explore all 297 Aesop quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) ## More Fancy quotes > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [My mind shrank from the menace sweeping down on us, as children's do from belief in death and misfortune, vainly clinging to the fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-pankhurst/my-mind-shrank-from-the-menace-sweeping-down-on-us-as-children-s-do/) [Sylvia Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-pankhurst/) > ['Sex and The City' was made to correct the myth that if you were single at a certain age, you were a leper. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-patrick-king/sex-and-the-city-was-made-to-correct-the-myth-that-if-you-were-single/) [Michael Patrick King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-patrick-king/) > [There is no science without fancy and no art without fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-is-no-science-without-fancy-and-no-art-without-fact/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Sometimes instinct isn't fancy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/sometimes-instinct-isn-t-fancy/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [When we idealize the real, we sacrifice to artistic fancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fuseli/when-we-idealize-the-real-we-sacrifice-to-artistic-fancy/) [Henry Fuseli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fuseli/) > [For now, I'm supposing that all movements are equal, which they're not, except in this respect: that none of them gives a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-now-i-m-supposing-that-all-movements-are-equal-which-they-re-not/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [If I am ever obscure in my expressions, do not fancy that therefore I am deep. If I were really deep, all the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/if-i-am-ever-obscure-in-my-expressions-do-not-fancy-that-therefore-i/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Poetical taste is the only magician whose wand is not broken. No hand, except its own, can dissolve the fabric of beauty in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/poetical-taste-is-the-only-magician-whose-wand-is-not-broken-no-hand/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [The criterion of true beauty is, that it increases in examination; of false, that it lessens. There is something, therefore, in true beauty that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grenville/the-criterion-of-true-beauty-is-that-it-increases-in-examination-of/) [George Grenville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grenville/) > [Now I'm having to live with sales of around 50,000 per album - but I'm pretty content with my place in the general scheme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-knopfler/now-i-m-having-to-live-with-sales-of-around-50-000-per-album-but-i-m/) [David Knopfler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-knopfler/) > [My friend told me he was going to a fancy dress party as an Italian island. I said to him, ‘Don’t be Sicily’.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-vine/my-friend-told-me-he-was-going-to-a-fancy-dress-party-as-an-italian/) [Tim Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-vine/) > [Metaphor isn't just a fancy turn of speech. It shapes our thoughts and feelings, reaches out to grasp new experience, and even binds our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/metaphor-isn-t-just-a-fancy-turn-of-speech-it-shapes-our-thoughts-and/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [If you're feeling fancy free, come wander through the world with me, and any place we chance to be, will be a rendezvous. Two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mancini/if-you-re-feeling-fancy-free-come-wander-through-the-world-with-me/) [Henry Mancini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mancini/) [Browse all 1,452 Fancy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fancy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place it in the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there. 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