--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don’t you think there are two great…" description: "\"“Don’t you think there are two great things in life that we ought to aim at—truth and kindness? Let’s have both if we can, but let’s be sure of having ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/e-m-forster-2-1148_kindness_don-t-you-think-there-are-two-great-thin_2874135.jpg" --- # Don’t you think there are two great things in life that we… ![“Don’t you think there are two great things in life that we ought to aim at—truth and kindness? Let’s have both if we can, but let’s be sure of having one or the other.” quote by E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/e-m-forster-2-1148_kindness_don-t-you-think-there-are-two-great-thin_2874135.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/e-m-forster-2-1148_kindness_don-t-you-think-there-are-two-great-thin_2874135.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/e-m-forster-2-1148_kindness_don-t-you-think-there-are-two-great-thin_2874135.jpg) > ““Don’t you think there are two great things in life that we ought to aim at—truth and kindness? Let’s have both if we can, but let’s be sure of having one or the other.”” [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We should strive for both truth and kindness, but ensure we possess at least one. **In simple terms:** Seek truth or kindness, preferably both. Key Takeaway Prioritize honesty and compassion. Themes ethics humanity balance Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal decisions - education - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy morality Questions to Reflect On - Which is harder for you, truth or kindness? - Can you live without both? A Different Perspective Choosing one may neglect the other. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Things in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-in-life/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“Aim for truth, and beauty will follow. Aim for beauty, and truth will not necessarily follow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wachtel/aim-for-truth-and-beauty-will-follow-aim-for-beauty-and-truth-will/) Chuck Wachtel > [“Every life ought to contain both a turn and a return.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/every-life-ought-to-contain-both-a-turn-and-a-return/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [When kindness comes at the expense of truth, it is not a kindness worth having. And when generosity leads to silence or abuse, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simmons/when-kindness-comes-at-the-expense-of-truth-it-is-not-a-kindness/) [Rachel Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simmons/) > [Authenticity, living your truth, kindness - these are necessary virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-dandridge/authenticity-living-your-truth-kindness-these-are-necessary-virtues/) [Merle Dandridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-dandridge/) > [“Knowing the truth is not always a kindness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamund-hodge/knowing-the-truth-is-not-always-a-kindness/) [Rosamund Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamund-hodge/) > [“What is better: uncomfortable truth or comfortable lies? Every truth is a kindness, even if it makes others uncomfortable. 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Let your every hope bring peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/let-your-every-word-express-kindness-let-your-every-thought-desire/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [My - to - do list for today.. count my blessings practice kindness let go of what I can't control listen to my heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-to-do-list-for-today-count-my-blessings-practice-kindness-let-go/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [People will take advantage of your kindness But only if you let them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaylee-w/people-will-take-advantage-of-your-kindness-but-only-if-you-let-them/) Kaylee W > [LISTEN to the small, quiet voice within that only ever guides you with love and compassion. 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Forster > [“She gave up trying to understand herself, and the vast armies of the benighted, who follow neither the heart nor the brain, and march…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/she-gave-up-trying-to-understand-herself-and-the-vast-armies-of-the/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“They had tried to reproduce their own attitude to life upon the stage, and to dress up as the middle-class English people they actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/they-had-tried-to-reproduce-their-own-attitude-to-life-upon-the-stage/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though -- if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a/) [E.M. 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Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Everything seems just alike in these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/everything-seems-just-alike-in-these-days/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He whispered: ‘Is it this? Is this possible? I’ll put a marvel to you. That your cousin has always hoped. That from the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-whispered-is-it-this-is-this-possible-i-ll-put-a-marvel-to-you/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Perhaps anything that he did would have pleased Lucy, but his awkwardness went straight to her heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/perhaps-anything-that-he-did-would-have-pleased-lucy-but-his/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Because a thing is going strong now, it need not go strong for ever,' she said. 'This craze for motion has only set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/because-a-thing-is-going-strong-now-it-need-not-go-strong-for-ever/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“England was alive, throbbing through all her estuaries, crying for joy through the mouths of all her gulls, and the north wind, with contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/england-was-alive-throbbing-through-all-her-estuaries-crying-for-joy/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But the poetry of that kiss, the wonder of it, the magic that there was in life for hours after it--who can describe that?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-the-poetry-of-that-kiss-the-wonder-of-it-the-magic-that-there-was/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But that some sonatas of Beethoven are written tragic no one can gainsay; yet they can triumph or despair as the player decides, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-that-some-sonatas-of-beethoven-are-written-tragic-no-one-can/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He chanced to be in a lucid critical mood, and would not sympathize with exaltation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-chanced-to-be-in-a-lucid-critical-mood-and-would-not-sympathize/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) [Explore all 274 E.M. Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## More Kindness quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Each of our acts makes a statement as to our purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/each-of-our-acts-makes-a-statement-as-to-our-purpose/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [Kindness unlocks doors that were thought to be closed forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/kindness-unlocks-doors-that-were-thought-to-be-closed-forever/) Unkown > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. 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Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) Talib al Habib > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [(I)f we are going to be kind, let it be out of simple generosity, not because we fear guilt or retribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-f-we-are-going-to-be-kind-let-it-be-out-of-simple-generosity-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 6,600 Kindness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Don’t you think there are two great things in life that we ought to aim at—truth and kindness? 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