--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must not see any person as an…" description: "\"We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its ow..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/elie-wiesel-341_abstraction_we-must-not-see-any-person-as-an-abstrac_1767794.png" --- # We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we… ![“We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph.” quote by Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/elie-wiesel-341_abstraction_we-must-not-see-any-person-as-an-abstrac_1767794.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/elie-wiesel-341_abstraction_we-must-not-see-any-person-as-an-abstrac_1767794.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/elie-wiesel-341_abstraction_we-must-not-see-any-person-as-an-abstrac_1767794.png) > “We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph.” [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Each person is a complex universe of pain and triumph, not a mere abstraction **In simple terms:** People are multifaceted beings Key Takeaway See each individual as a universe Themes humanity complexity empathy triumph Mood reflective respectful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - counseling - conflict resolution - community building Key Concepts existential dignity psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor each person's hidden depths? - What practices foster deeper empathy? A Different Perspective Reducing people to stereotypes limits understanding ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Anguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) [Person Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-abstraction-1750426/) [Person Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-universe-408692/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source/) [Treasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treasure/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Universe Secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-secrets-1750427/) ## Related quotes > [“We must not see any person as an abstraction. 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She's made this experience much less miserable for me, with her compassion, patience and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wil-wheaton/my-wife-is-the-most-awesome-person-in-the-universe-she-s-made-this/) [Wil Wheaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wil-wheaton/) > [“I am the best person in the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-nguyen/i-am-the-best-person-in-the-universe/) [Kendrick Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-nguyen/) > [The only measures that count are progress over your own self, and triumph over the vacant abstractions that most people mistake for thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/the-only-measures-that-count-are-progress-over-your-own-self-and/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [There is much to be done, there is much that can be done... one person of integrity can make a difference, a difference of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/there-is-much-to-be-done-there-is-much-that-can-be-done-one-person-of/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## More by Elie Wiesel > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [One more stab to the heart, one more reason to hate. One less reason to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/one-more-stab-to-the-heart-one-more-reason-to-hate-one-less-reason-to/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-all-these-victims-need-above-all-is-to-know-that-they-are-not/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-feel-that-books-just-like-people-have-a-destiny-some-invite-sorrow/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ \[Chinese\] are a huge empire now, you'll soon be - in a few years two billion people in the world. 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Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/mankind-must-remember-that-peace-is-not-god-s-gift-to-his-creatures/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [The world? The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even the crematoria...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-world-the-world-is-not-interested-in-us-today-everything-is/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-question-possessed-a-power-that-was-lost-in-the-answer/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [His cold eyes stared at me. At last, he said wearily: "I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/his-cold-eyes-stared-at-me-at-last-he-said-wearily-i-have-more-faith/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [As you know, I describe Shirat ha-Yam as part of an epic story that has qualities of history and which also has qualities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/as-you-know-i-describe-shirat-ha-yam-as-part-of-an-epic-story-that/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate -healthy virile hate- for what the German personifies and for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-jew-somewhere-in-his-being-should-set-apart-a-zone-of-hate/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Did hope help us to survive, or not? Too many families clung to it all through the war, thus falling into the enemy's trap.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-hope-help-us-to-survive-or-not-too-many-families-clung-to-it-all/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) [Explore all 662 Elie Wiesel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## More Abstraction quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. 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A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) [Banesh Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banesh-hoffmann/) > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. 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