--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When will our consciences grow so tender…" description: "\"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?\" — Eleanor Roosevelt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/eleanor-roosevelt-381_benevolence_when-will-our-consciences-grow-so-tender_2568990.jpg" --- # When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act… ![“When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” quote by Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/eleanor-roosevelt-381_benevolence_when-will-our-consciences-grow-so-tender_2568990.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/eleanor-roosevelt-381_benevolence_when-will-our-consciences-grow-so-tender_2568990.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/eleanor-roosevelt-381_benevolence_when-will-our-consciences-grow-so-tender_2568990.jpg) > “When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human empathy must deepen before we prioritize preventing suffering over seeking revenge. **In simple terms:** We need more compassion before we stop hurting others. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy before reacting. Themes compassion justice humanity Mood reflective concerned Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - community activism - personal relationships Key Concepts ethical development social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can we nurture collective empathy? - What actions replace vengeance with aid? A Different Perspective Compassion alone may not overcome entrenched power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benevolence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolence/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) ## Related quotes > [There's never any ebb in human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/there-s-never-any-ebb-in-human-misery/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [The so-called Real World. Human misery and sadness. Blind politics and general cruelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/the-so-called-real-world-human-misery-and-sadness-blind-politics-and/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [It is human misery and not pleasure which contains the secret of the divine wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/it-is-human-misery-and-not-pleasure-which-contains-the-secret-of-the/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [As I had once done thus in my breaking away from my Parents, so I could not be content now, but I must go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/as-i-had-once-done-thus-in-my-breaking-away-from-my-parents-so-i/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Even when they're not causing injury, human-controlled cars are often driven inefficiently, ineptly, antisocially, or in other ways additive to the sum of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-chatfield/even-when-they-re-not-causing-injury-human-controlled-cars-are-often/) [Tom Chatfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-chatfield/) > [ Far from being the crown of human thought and religion as its supporters have claimed for several bloody millennia, \[monotheism\] is in fact a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bonewits/far-from-being-the-crown-of-human-thought-and-religion-as-its/) [Isaac Bonewits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bonewits/) > [“Wherever you find human misery, you find lawyers, either causing it or making a profit from it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wherever-you-find-human-misery-you-find-lawyers-either-causing-it-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My world of human beings had perished. I was utterly alone in the world and for friends I had the streets, and the streets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/my-world-of-human-beings-had-perished-i-was-utterly-alone-in-the/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [There’s no democratic state that’s not compromised to the very core by its part in generating human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/there-s-no-democratic-state-that-s-not-compromised-to-the-very-core/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [“I wandered aimlessly through this muddy lane bespattered with blood, fragments of the past detached themselves and floated listlessly before my eyes, taunting me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-wandered-aimlessly-through-this-muddy-lane-bespattered-with-blood/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“The need for gain, and advantage over others, is one of the chief driving forces behind all human misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/the-need-for-gain-and-advantage-over-others-is-one-of-the-chief/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [Human misery is too great for men to do without faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/human-misery-is-too-great-for-men-to-do-without-faith/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [“religion is a paramount contributor to human misery. It is not merely the opium of the masses, it is the cyanide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/religion-is-a-paramount-contributor-to-human-misery-it-is-not-merely/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > ["Spirituality" wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spirituality-wrongly-understood-or-pursued-is-a-major-source-of-human/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [But there are no absolutes in human misery and things can always get worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/but-there-are-no-absolutes-in-human-misery-and-things-can-always-get/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More by Eleanor Roosevelt > [My experience has been that work is almost the best way to pull oneself out of the depths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/my-experience-has-been-that-work-is-almost-the-best-way-to-pull/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [experience should teach us that it is always the unexpected that does occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/experience-should-teach-us-that-it-is-always-the-unexpected-that-does/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [To be mature you have to realize what you value most... Not to arrive at a clear understanding of one's own values is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/to-be-mature-you-have-to-realize-what-you-value-most-not-to-arrive-at/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [I'm enormously interested in freedom and retaining the right to have whatever economy we want and to shape it as we want and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/i-m-enormously-interested-in-freedom-and-retaining-the-right-to-have/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [When you look fear in the face, you are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/when-you-look-fear-in-the-face-you-are-able-to-say-to-yourself-i/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [The destiny of human rights is in the hands of all our citizens in all our communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/the-destiny-of-human-rights-is-in-the-hands-of-all-our-citizens-in/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [You can never really live anyone else's life, not even your child's. The influence you exert is through your own life, and what you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/you-can-never-really-live-anyone-else-s-life-not-even-your-child-s/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [“One of the things I believe most intensely is that every child’s why should be answered with care—and with respect. If you do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/one-of-the-things-i-believe-most-intensely-is-that-every-child-s-why/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [What we must learn to do is to create unbreakable bonds between the sciences and the humanities. We cannot procrastinate. The world of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/what-we-must-learn-to-do-is-to-create-unbreakable-bonds-between-the/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/never-allow-a-person-to-tell-you-no-who-doesn-t-have-the-power-to-say/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/do-not-stop-thinking-of-life-as-an-adventure-you-have-no-security/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/we-stand-today-at-the-threshold-of-a-great-event-both-in-the-life-of/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [All of us ... should remember that no amount of flag-waving, pledging allegiance, or fervent singing of the national anthem is evidence that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/all-of-us-should-remember-that-no-amount-of-flag-waving-pledging/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Some friends leave footprints in your heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/some-friends-leave-footprints-in-your-heart/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [If we want a free and peaceful world, if we want to make the deserts bloom and man grow to greater dignity as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/if-we-want-a-free-and-peaceful-world-if-we-want-to-make-the-deserts/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) [Explore all 612 Eleanor Roosevelt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) ## More Benevolence 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/) > [I rejoice that the reign of Christ is such, while it thrills the soul with emotions, and opens before the highest intellect the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-simpson/i-rejoice-that-the-reign-of-christ-is-such-while-it-thrills-the-soul/) [Matthew Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-simpson/) > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [The benevolence of wrapping the partridge in a vine leaf brings out its quality, just as the barrel of Diogenes brought forth the qualities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-des-essarts/the-benevolence-of-wrapping-the-partridge-in-a-vine-leaf-brings-out/) Emmanuel des Essarts > [“Now general benevolence was one of the leading features of the Pickwickian theory, and no one was more remarkable for the zealous manner in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/now-general-benevolence-was-one-of-the-leading-features-of-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Conservatives say the government can't end poverty by force, but they believe it can use force to make people moral. Liberals say government can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/conservatives-say-the-government-can-t-end-poverty-by-force-but-they/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [The individualism of current economic theory is manifest in the purely self-interested behaviour it generally assumes. It has no real place for fairness, malevolence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-e-daly/the-individualism-of-current-economic-theory-is-manifest-in-the/) [Herman E. Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-e-daly/) > [Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/nobody-but-a-beggar-chooses-to-depend-chiefly-upon-the-benevolence-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Want compassion is not to be numbered among the general faults of mankind. The black ingredient which fouls our disposition is envy. Hence our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/want-compassion-is-not-to-be-numbered-among-the-general-faults-of/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [When you have lived as long as I have, the div replied, you find that cruelty and benevolence are but shades of the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/when-you-have-lived-as-long-as-i-have-the-div-replied-you-find-that/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [ They \[spies\] cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/they-spies-cannot-be-properly-managed-without-benevolence-and/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Generosity during life is a very different thing from generosity in the hour of death; one proceeds from genuine liberality, and benevolence; the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/generosity-during-life-is-a-very-different-thing-from-generosity-in/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [There is in St. Paul's definite, soul-stirring assertion of the wrath of God and the reality of the judgment at hand, a truth more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-allen/there-is-in-st-paul-s-definite-soul-stirring-assertion-of-the-wrath/) [Roland Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-allen/) > [Men resemble the gods in nothing so much as in doing good to their fellow creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/men-resemble-the-gods-in-nothing-so-much-as-in-doing-good-to-their/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [General benevolence, but not general friendship, made a man what he ought to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/general-benevolence-but-not-general-friendship-made-a-man-what-he/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) [Browse all 371 Benevolence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eleanor Roosevelt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/when-will-our-consciences-grow-so-tender-that-we-will-act-to-prevent/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Benevolence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/when-will-our-consciences-grow-so-tender-that-we-will-act-to-prevent/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/eleanor-roosevelt-381_benevolence_when-will-our-consciences-grow-so-tender_2568990.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/eleanor-roosevelt-381_benevolence_when-will-our-consciences-grow-so-tender_2568990.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/eleanor-roosevelt-381_benevolence_when-will-our-consciences-grow-so-tender_2568990.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” — Eleanor Roosevelt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eleanor Roosevelt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When will our consciences grow so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/when-will-our-consciences-grow-so-tender-that-we-will-act-to-prevent/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/when-will-our-consciences-grow-so-tender-that-we-will-act-to-prevent/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```