--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... I have read in your face, as plain as…" description: "\"... I have read in your face, as plain as if it was a book, that but for some trouble and sorrow we should never know half the good there is about us.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/045/charles-dickens-34_book_i-have-read-in-your-face-as-plain-as-if_2617831.jpg" --- # ... I have read in your face, as plain as if it was a… ![“... I have read in your face, as plain as if it was a book, that but for some trouble and sorrow we should never know half the good there is about us.” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/045/charles-dickens-34_book_i-have-read-in-your-face-as-plain-as-if_2617831.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/045/charles-dickens-34_book_i-have-read-in-your-face-as-plain-as-if_2617831.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/045/charles-dickens-34_book_i-have-read-in-your-face-as-plain-as-if_2617831.jpg) > “... I have read in your face, as plain as if it was a book, that but for some trouble and sorrow we should never know half the good there is about us.” [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reads a person's inner goodness despite their troubles, implying that true character shines through adversity. **In simple terms:** Even with sorrow, we can see a person’s hidden goodness. Key Takeaway Seek the good in others despite hardships. Themes character perception adversity inner goodness Mood empathetic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - friendship - family conflict - personal growth - counseling Key Concepts literature human nature psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize hidden virtues? - What role does suffering play in revealing character? A Different Perspective Not everyone’s goodness is evident; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) ## Related quotes > [He that seeks here any other thing but simply God and the salvation of his soul, will find nothing but trouble and sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/he-that-seeks-here-any-other-thing-but-simply-god-and-the-salvation/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [He that seeketh anything else but simply God and the salvation of his soul, will find nothing but trouble and sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/he-that-seeketh-anything-else-but-simply-god-and-the-salvation-of-his/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [Let's face it, there are no plain women on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-ford/let-s-face-it-there-are-no-plain-women-on-television/) Anna Ford > [There were times when he could not read the face he had studied so long, and when this lonely girl was a greater mystery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-were-times-when-he-could-not-read-the-face-he-had-studied-so/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Sometimes I forget to count my blessings when all I see are trials and tribulations, but somehow even in the darkest sorrow I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-forget-to-count-my-blessings-when-all-i-see-are-trials/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All around you are people whose lives are filled with trouble and sorrow, and they need your compassion and encouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/all-around-you-are-people-whose-lives-are-filled-with-trouble-and/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“for my father, 1922-1944 Your face did not rot like the others--the co-pilot, for example, I saw him yesterday. His face is corn- mush:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-tate/for-my-father-1922-1944-your-face-did-not-rot-like-the-others-the-co/) [James Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-tate/) > [You changed the subject." "From what?" "The empty-headed girls who think you're sexy." "You know." "Know what?" "That I only have eyes for you."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/you-changed-the-subject-from-what-the-empty-headed-girls-who-think-2/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Please,” Alec said, pulling out his stele. “I can read your face like a very open, very pornographic book. I wish I couldn’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/please-alec-said-pulling-out-his-stele-i-can-read-your-face-like-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Read my face tell me how much of a fuck you think I give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/read-my-face-tell-me-how-much-of-a-fuck-you-think-i-give/) Unkown > [“It's how we read the face, said Ian. Remember that you're talking to a psychologist. We like to think about things like that. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/it-s-how-we-read-the-face-said-ian-remember-that-you-re-talking-to-a/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [A man does not need to be a wizard to know truth from falsehood, not if he has eyes. You need only learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-does-not-need-to-be-a-wizard-to-know-truth-from-falsehood-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I saw through to the last sign and symbol, but I could not read her face. I could see only the eyes shining through,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-saw-through-to-the-last-sign-and-symbol-but-i-could-not-read-her/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Don't expect others to read it on your face, because only you know what your heart's holding deep down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drusila-t/don-t-expect-others-to-read-it-on-your-face-because-only-you-know/) [Drusila T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drusila-t/) > [trying to read his face. It was like a book written in a foreign language she'd studied all too briefly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/trying-to-read-his-face-it-was-like-a-book-written-in-a-foreign/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by Charles Dickens > [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-can-be-no-disparity-in-marriage-like-unsuitability-of-mind-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-joe-was-a-very-clean-housekeeper-but-had-an-exquisite-art-of/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Besides which, all that I could have said of the Story to any purpose, I had endeavoured to say in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/besides-which-all-that-i-could-have-said-of-the-story-to-any-purpose/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The wheels rolled on, and rolled down by the Monument, and by the Tower; and by the Docks; down by Ratcliffe, and by Rotherhithe;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-wheels-rolled-on-and-rolled-down-by-the-monument-and-by-the-tower/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The three customers pulled off their hats to Madame Defarge, with three flourishes. She acknowledged their homage by bending her head, and giving them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-three-customers-pulled-off-their-hats-to-madame-defarge-with/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-pickwick-was-a-philosopher-but-philosophers-are-only-men-in-armour/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) [Explore all 2,309 Charles Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "... 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