--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: His consolation was that at least he had…" description: "\"“His consolation was that at least he had known her as the world had not, and the pain of living without her was no more than a penalty he paid for the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/colm-toibin-3377_consolation_his-consolation-was-that-at-least-he-had_2895765.jpg" --- # His consolation was that at least he had known her as the… ![“His consolation was that at least he had known her as the world had not, and the pain of living without her was no more than a penalty he paid for the privilege of having been young with her. What once was life, he thought, is always life and he knew that her image would preside in his intellect…” quote by Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/colm-toibin-3377_consolation_his-consolation-was-that-at-least-he-had_2895765.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/colm-toibin-3377_consolation_his-consolation-was-that-at-least-he-had_2895765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/colm-toibin-3377_consolation_his-consolation-was-that-at-least-he-had_2895765.jpg) > ““His consolation was that at least he had known her as the world had not, and the pain of living without her was no more than a penalty he paid for the privilege of having been young with her. What once was life, he thought, is always life and he knew that her image would preside in his intellect as a sort of measure and standard of brightness and repose.”” [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Remembering a past love can be both a comfort and a lingering pain, shaping one’s sense of self. **In simple terms:** Past love comforts and pains. Key Takeaway Honor memories, learn from them. Themes memory loss growth Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - grief counseling - writing - personal development Key Concepts nostalgia self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What does this past love teach you? - How can you integrate its lessons? A Different Perspective Clinging to the past may hinder moving forward. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consolation/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“Henry wondered, too, what life would have had for her and how her exquisite faculty of challenge could have dealt with a world which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/henry-wondered-too-what-life-would-have-had-for-her-and-how-her/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“Before him stood his wife, and he knew this image was the one that would pass before his eyes at his moment of death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foenkinos/before-him-stood-his-wife-and-he-knew-this-image-was-the-one-that/) [David Foenkinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foenkinos/) > [“In the end you can't save your soul and life by thought. But if you think , the least of the consolation prizes is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/in-the-end-you-can-t-save-your-soul-and-life-by-thought-but-if-you/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“The moment you walked into my life, I knew you were what I’d been looking for. I knew you were the one who would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-elliott/the-moment-you-walked-into-my-life-i-knew-you-were-what-i-d-been/) [Kelly Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-elliott/) > [“It was her street, her neighborhood, her life. She knew that someday in the future it would not be hers anymore. But she would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-cochrane/it-was-her-street-her-neighborhood-her-life-she-knew-that-someday-in/) [Mick Cochrane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-cochrane/) > [I knew I loved you before I met you I think I dreamed you into life I knew I loved you before I met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savage-garden/i-knew-i-loved-you-before-i-met-you-i-think-i-dreamed-you-into-life-i/) [Savage Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savage-garden/) > [“Thomas had never seen anything like her in his life, and he knew, with a beautiful sort of sadness, that he never would again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-nicolaisen/thomas-had-never-seen-anything-like-her-in-his-life-and-he-knew-with/) [Chris Nicolaisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-nicolaisen/) > [“At that point in time, there were three things in life that I knew for certain: (1) I was a girl who’d never met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/at-that-point-in-time-there-were-three-things-in-life-that-i-knew-for/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“But whether or not they chose to take a step into the unknown, the unknown would still come, the yawning precipice would still swallow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/but-whether-or-not-they-chose-to-take-a-step-into-the-unknown-the/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [That’s the thing about life, he knew. There was always a but.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/that-s-the-thing-about-life-he-knew-there-was-always-a-but/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [School teaches you what to do with the rest of your life. I already knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/school-teaches-you-what-to-do-with-the-rest-of-your-life-i-already/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [“No matter where in the world she was or what she was going through in life, she knew she could always look up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-gauvin/no-matter-where-in-the-world-she-was-or-what-she-was-going-through-in/) Juliet Gauvin > [God has always been the head of my life, even before I knew it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emayatzy-e-corinealdi/god-has-always-been-the-head-of-my-life-even-before-i-knew-it/) [Emayatzy E. Corinealdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emayatzy-e-corinealdi/) > [“...those days were the only time in my life when I knew why I was in the world. It was the only time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-days-were-the-only-time-in-my-life-when-i-knew-why-i-was-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It was all he'd felt for too long to change now. Maybe it was too late for any other kind of life. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-brown/it-was-all-he-d-felt-for-too-long-to-change-now-maybe-it-was-too-late/) [Virginia Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-brown/) ## More by Colm Tóibín > [I first went to Barcelona in 1975 after university, and I stayed for three years. I learnt Catalan because that's what everyone speaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-first-went-to-barcelona-in-1975-after-university-and-i-stayed-for/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“What is hard to understand is that our dreams matter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/what-is-hard-to-understand-is-that-our-dreams-matter/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Suffering is too strong a word, but writing is serious work. I pull the stuff up from me - it's not as if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/suffering-is-too-strong-a-word-but-writing-is-serious-work-i-pull-the/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Three of my novels and a good number of my short stories are told from the point of view of men. I was brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/three-of-my-novels-and-a-good-number-of-my-short-stories-are-told/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [It may be enough to study history in all its nuance and ambiguity for its own sake. But there is no country free of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/it-may-be-enough-to-study-history-in-all-its-nuance-and-ambiguity-for/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [The only routine I have is that I finish everything I start. I wake up early every day - about 6.30 A.M. - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/the-only-routine-i-have-is-that-i-finish-everything-i-start-i-wake-up/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [While historians may go on attempting grand, sweeping and defining narratives, they work in a time when readers know that another narrative always lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/while-historians-may-go-on-attempting-grand-sweeping-and-defining/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [John McGovern taught me that it's OK to write repeatedly about the same things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/john-mcgovern-taught-me-that-it-s-ok-to-write-repeatedly-about-the/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Some of our loves and attachments are elemental and beyond our choosing, and for that very reason they come spiced with pain and regret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/some-of-our-loves-and-attachments-are-elemental-and-beyond-our/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Solitude is good in the evening. Dublin is a quiet city when you get to a certain age, when your friends settle down and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/solitude-is-good-in-the-evening-dublin-is-a-quiet-city-when-you-get/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“The details of what I told him were with me all the years in the same way as my hands or my arms were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/the-details-of-what-i-told-him-were-with-me-all-the-years-in-the-same/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [I did think of becoming a priest quite late on, when other boys were thinking of knocking over fences and going out with girls.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-did-think-of-becoming-a-priest-quite-late-on-when-other-boys-were/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“Here in this cemetery, which they began to stroll around once more, the state of not-knowing and not-feeling which belonged to the dead seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/here-in-this-cemetery-which-they-began-to-stroll-around-once-more-the/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“I don’t go in for change. It is not one of my subjects. I have always taken the view that noticing change is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-don-t-go-in-for-change-it-is-not-one-of-my-subjects-i-have-always/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“There will always be reservations, things one must leave out, events one can’t explain without handing over a full map of one’s life, unfolding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/there-will-always-be-reservations-things-one-must-leave-out-events/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) [Explore all 132 Colm Tóibín quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) ## More Consolation quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I had thought that growing up's consolation was that you could escape from the arbitrariness of things, that somehow one acquired more control. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-galloway/i-had-thought-that-growing-up-s-consolation-was-that-you-could-escape/) [Janice Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-galloway/) > [It is part of God's plan for us that Christ shall come to us in everyone; it is in their particular role that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caryll-houselander/it-is-part-of-god-s-plan-for-us-that-christ-shall-come-to-us-in/) [Caryll Houselander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caryll-houselander/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The slave and those whose present life is miserable and who can find no consolation in the heavens are assured that at least the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-slave-and-those-whose-present-life-is-miserable-and-who-can-find/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Perhaps the greatest consolation of the oppressed is to consider themselves superior to their tyrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/perhaps-the-greatest-consolation-of-the-oppressed-is-to-consider/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [Books, which we mistake for consolation, only add depth to our sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/books-which-we-mistake-for-consolation-only-add-depth-to-our-sorrow/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [The day has the color and the sound of winter. Thoughts turn to chowder...chowder breathes reassurance. It steams consolation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clementine-paddleford/the-day-has-the-color-and-the-sound-of-winter-thoughts-turn-to/) [Clementine Paddleford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clementine-paddleford/) > [Seek and possess holiness, and consolation will follow, as assuredly as warmth follows the dispensation of the rays of the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cogswell-upham/seek-and-possess-holiness-and-consolation-will-follow-as-assuredly-as/) [Thomas Cogswell Upham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cogswell-upham/) > [Solitude was my only consolation - deep, dark, deathlike solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/solitude-was-my-only-consolation-deep-dark-deathlike-solitude/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have the consolation of leaving your kingdom in the highest degree of glory and of reputation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cardinal-richelieu/i-have-the-consolation-of-leaving-your-kingdom-in-the-highest-degree/) [Cardinal Richelieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cardinal-richelieu/) > [All consolation that does not come from God is but desolation; when the soul has learned to receive no comfort but in God only,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/all-consolation-that-does-not-come-from-god-is-but-desolation-when/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) > [Let is walk ... joyously, dear souls, among the difficulties of this passing life ... These pains will have an end when our life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-is-walk-joyously-dear-souls-among-the-difficulties-of-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Thinking about suicide is a potent consolation: it helps us to get through many a bad night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/thinking-about-suicide-is-a-potent-consolation-it-helps-us-to-get/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Browse all 587 Consolation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consolation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“His consolation was that at least he had known her as the world had not, and the pain of living without her was no more than a penalty he paid for the privilege of having been young with her. 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