--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greater the suffering depicted, the…" description: "\"The greater the suffering depicted, the more terrible the events, the more intense our pleasure.\" — Edith Hamilton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/edith-hamilton-7366_events_the-greater-the-suffering-depicted-the-m_1038529.jpg" --- # The greater the suffering depicted, the more terrible the… ![“The greater the suffering depicted, the more terrible the events, the more intense our pleasure.” quote by Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/edith-hamilton-7366_events_the-greater-the-suffering-depicted-the-m_1038529.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/edith-hamilton-7366_events_the-greater-the-suffering-depicted-the-m_1038529.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/edith-hamilton-7366_events_the-greater-the-suffering-depicted-the-m_1038529.jpg) > “The greater the suffering depicted, the more terrible the events, the more intense our pleasure.” [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intense suffering heightens our emotional response, making the experience more gripping and pleasurable. **In simple terms:** Pain amplifies pleasure. Key Takeaway Find meaning in hardship. Themes suffering pleasure human nature Mood thoughtful intense Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - art criticism - personal trauma - entertainment Key Concepts aestheticism psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why do we seek intense experiences? - Can joy exist without pain? A Different Perspective Pleasure from suffering can be unhealthy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Events Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events-intense-2414324/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Greater Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater-suffering-378524/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Intense Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense-pleasure-638349/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Depicted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-depicted-2414323/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) ## Related quotes > [Words should be an intense pleasure just as leather should be to a shoemaker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/words-should-be-an-intense-pleasure-just-as-leather-should-be-to-a/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [I felt the most intense pleasure in piercing the stone in order to make an abstract form and space; quite a different sensation from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-hepworth/i-felt-the-most-intense-pleasure-in-piercing-the-stone-in-order-to/) [Barbara Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-hepworth/) > [I gallop and jump and ride young horses with intense pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/i-gallop-and-jump-and-ride-young-horses-with-intense-pleasure/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [the greater part of the suffering in the world is caused not by wicked intents and hard hearts, but by the careless desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marah-ellis-ryan/the-greater-part-of-the-suffering-in-the-world-is-caused-not-by/) [Marah Ellis Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marah-ellis-ryan/) > [No one was ever called by God to greater suffering than God's only begotten Son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-was-ever-called-by-god-to-greater-suffering-than-god-s-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Suffering is accumulated, said my friend, that’s a fact, and the greater the suffering, the smaller the coincidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/suffering-is-accumulated-said-my-friend-that-s-a-fact-and-the-greater/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Once I got over the belief that I didn’t have a right to explore my life when there were many other people in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-mason-john/once-i-got-over-the-belief-that-i-didn-t-have-a-right-to-explore-my/) [Valerie Mason-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-mason-john/) > [When your suffering is a little greater than my suffering I feel that I am a little cruel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/when-your-suffering-is-a-little-greater-than-my-suffering-i-feel-that/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [“There is no greater sin than to hate and kill the Son of God. There was no greater suffering nor any greater innocence than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/there-is-no-greater-sin-than-to-hate-and-kill-the-son-of-god-there/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [You will be consoled according to the greatness of your sorrow and affliction; the greater the suffering, the greater will be the reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-de-pazzi/you-will-be-consoled-according-to-the-greatness-of-your-sorrow-and/) [Magdalena de Pazzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-de-pazzi/) > [We are so constituted that we can gain intense pleasure only from the contrast, and only very little from the condition itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-are-so-constituted-that-we-can-gain-intense-pleasure-only-from-the/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [The exercise of all the senses is as intense pleasure, as anyone will find, who recovers the use of one after being deprived of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-exercise-of-all-the-senses-is-as-intense-pleasure-as-anyone-will/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“She promised new, tantalizing diversions. She whispered words of raw, intense pleasure the likes of which he’d never experienced. He was intrigued. She had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-reynard/she-promised-new-tantalizing-diversions-she-whispered-words-of-raw/) [Sylvain Reynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-reynard/) > [“But it's in despair that you discover the most intense pleasure, especially when you are acutely conscious of the hopelessness of your predicament.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/but-it-s-in-despair-that-you-discover-the-most-intense-pleasure/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“There is no happiness that lasts overlong. There are only moments of intense pleasure that make all that comes between bearable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-bangs/there-is-no-happiness-that-lasts-overlong-there-are-only-moments-of/) [Nina Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-bangs/) ## More by Edith Hamilton > [Poetry and preaching do not go well together; when the preacher mounts the pulpit the poet usually goes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/poetry-and-preaching-do-not-go-well-together-when-the-preacher-mounts/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [When faith is supported by facts or by logic it ceases to be faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/when-faith-is-supported-by-facts-or-by-logic-it-ceases-to-be-faith/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [Ages of faith and of unbelief are always said to mark the course of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/ages-of-faith-and-of-unbelief-are-always-said-to-mark-the-course-of/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [None so good that he has no faults, None so wicked that he is worth naught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/none-so-good-that-he-has-no-faults-none-so-wicked-that-he-is-worth/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [To be able to be caught up into the world of thought-that is educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/to-be-able-to-be-caught-up-into-the-world-of-thought-that-is-educated/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [Convention, so often a mask for injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/convention-so-often-a-mask-for-injustice/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [Myths are early science, the result of men's first trying to explain what they saw around them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/myths-are-early-science-the-result-of-men-s-first-trying-to-explain/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of the day show the quality of the people as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/a-people-s-literature-is-the-great-textbook-for-real-knowledge-of/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [“He drew iron tears down Pluto's cheek and make Hell grant what Love did seek. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/he-drew-iron-tears-down-pluto-s-cheek-and-make-hell-grant-what-love/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [Mind and spirit together make up that which separates us from the rest of the animal world, that which enables a man to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/mind-and-spirit-together-make-up-that-which-separates-us-from-the/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/it-has-always-seemed-strange-to-me-that-in-our-endless-discussions/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [When we speak of beauty, we're speaking of something we're more or less indifferent to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/when-we-speak-of-beauty-we-re-speaking-of-something-we-re-more-or/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [Love, however, cannot be forbidden. The more that flame is covered up, the hotter it burns. Also love can always find a way. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/love-however-cannot-be-forbidden-the-more-that-flame-is-covered-up/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [In theology the conservative temper tends to formalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/in-theology-the-conservative-temper-tends-to-formalism/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [The Old Testament is the record of men's conviction that God speaks directly to men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/the-old-testament-is-the-record-of-men-s-conviction-that-god-speaks/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) [Explore all 92 Edith Hamilton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) ## More Events quotes > [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. 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It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/) [Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/) > [I wasn’t like, boo hoo, Bin Laden’s dead, but I wasn’t jumping. America’s a very nationalistic country, and in episodes like that of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scahill/i-wasn-t-like-boo-hoo-bin-laden-s-dead-but-i-wasn-t-jumping-america-s/) [Jeremy Scahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scahill/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [Things happen too quickly, crisis follows crisis, the soil of our minds is perpetually disturbed. 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