--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great chasm between the thing I say…" description: "\"“The great chasm between the thing I say, & the thing I would say, wd be quite dispiriting to me, in spite even of such kindnesses as yours, if the des..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_chasms_the-great-chasm-between-the-thing-i-say_263062.jpg" --- # The great chasm between the thing I say, & the thing I… ![“The great chasm between the thing I say, & the thing I would say, wd be quite dispiriting to me, in spite even of such kindnesses as yours, if the desire did not master the despondency.” quote by Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_chasms_the-great-chasm-between-the-thing-i-say_263062.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_chasms_the-great-chasm-between-the-thing-i-say_263062.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_chasms_the-great-chasm-between-the-thing-i-say_263062.jpg) > ““The great chasm between the thing I say, & the thing I would say, wd be quite dispiriting to me, in spite even of such kindnesses as yours, if the desire did not master the despondency.”” [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels discouraged when their true thoughts differ from what they can express, despite kindness. **In simple terms:** Unspoken thoughts cause frustration despite kindness. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and share your true feelings. Themes communication authenticity frustration Mood reflective melancholic Type literary emotional When to use this quote - personal letters - poetry readings - therapy sessions - team meetings Key Concepts self‑censorship emotional honesty Questions to Reflect On - What truth are you holding back? - How might openness improve relationships? A Different Perspective Kindness alone cannot replace honest expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chasms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chasms/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Despondency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despondency/) [Dispiriting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dispiriting-2588689/) [Dispiriting Spite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dispiriting-spite-2588688/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Master Despondency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/master-despondency-2588687/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Quite Dispiriting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quite-dispiriting-2588690/) [Spite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spite/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [Uncertainty as to our relationship to God is one of the most enfeebling and dispiriting of things. It makes a man heartless. It takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatius-bonar/uncertainty-as-to-our-relationship-to-god-is-one-of-the-most/) [Horatius Bonar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatius-bonar/) > [“It could be oddly dispiriting, the blank refusal of humankind to even attempt to function responsibly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/it-could-be-oddly-dispiriting-the-blank-refusal-of-humankind-to-even/) [Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/) > [People know that pursuing a mission without achieving results is dispiriting; achieving results without a mission is meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hesselbein/people-know-that-pursuing-a-mission-without-achieving-results-is/) [Frances Hesselbein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hesselbein/) > [One receives as reward for much ennui, despondency, boredom -such as a solitude without friends, books, duties, passions must bring with it -those quarter-hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-receives-as-reward-for-much-ennui-despondency-boredom-such-as-a/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Spirit of BEAUTY, that dost consecrate With thine own hues all thou dost shine upon Of human thought or form, where art thou gone?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/spirit-of-beauty-that-dost-consecrate-with-thine-own-hues-all-thou/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [From nothing else but the brain come joys, delights, laughter and sports, and sorrows, griefs, despondency, and lamentations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/from-nothing-else-but-the-brain-come-joys-delights-laughter-and/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [ Ready-to-Halt, Poor Fearing, and thou, Mrs. Despondency, and Much-afraid, go often there \[the empty tomb\]; let it be your favorite haunt. There build a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/ready-to-halt-poor-fearing-and-thou-mrs-despondency-and-much-afraid/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“You have fallen into a fit of despondency, and there is not the least need! In fact, nothing could be more fatal, in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-heyer/you-have-fallen-into-a-fit-of-despondency-and-there-is-not-the-least/) [Georgette Heyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-heyer/) > [Never accept despondency. Never lose heart. You don't know what tomorrow will bring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-sinha/never-accept-despondency-never-lose-heart-you-don-t-know-what/) [Anil Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-sinha/) > [A man who is pressing forward to accomplish worthy goals can soon put despondency under his feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/a-man-who-is-pressing-forward-to-accomplish-worthy-goals-can-soon-put/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Men ought to know that from nothing else but the brain come joys, delights, laughter and sports, and sorrows, griefs, despondency, and lamentations. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/men-ought-to-know-that-from-nothing-else-but-the-brain-come-joys/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [To believe a business impossible is the way to make it so. How many feasible projects have miscarried through despondency, and been strangled in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-collier/to-believe-a-business-impossible-is-the-way-to-make-it-so-how-many/) [Jeremy Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-collier/) > [“When something drops into your life that seems to threaten your future, remember this: the first shockwaves of the bomb are not sin. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/when-something-drops-into-your-life-that-seems-to-threaten-your/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [I ought not to doubt the steadiness of your affection. Yet such is the inconsistency of real love, that it is always awake to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/i-ought-not-to-doubt-the-steadiness-of-your-affection-yet-such-is-the/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [I elbowed my way into the grubby café, bought a pie that tasted of shoe polish and a pot of tea with cork crumbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-elbowed-my-way-into-the-grubby-caf-bought-a-pie-that-tasted-of-shoe/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## More by Elizabeth Barrett Browning > [I should not dare to call my soul my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/i-should-not-dare-to-call-my-soul-my-own/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Many a crown Covers bald foreheads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/many-a-crown-covers-bald-foreheads/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [And lilies are still lilies, pulled By smutty hands, though spotted from their white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/and-lilies-are-still-lilies-pulled-by-smutty-hands-though-spotted/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, 'Let no one be called happy till his death;' to which I would add, 'Let no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-greeks-said-grandly-in-their-tragic-phrase-let-no-one-be-called/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [“The face of all the world is changed, I think, Since first I heard the footsteps of they soul Move still, oh, still, beside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-face-of-all-the-world-is-changed-i-think-since-first-i-heard-the/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Wall must get the weather stain Before they grow the ivy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/wall-must-get-the-weather-stain-before-they-grow-the-ivy/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways-i-love-thee-to-the-depth-and/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [With stammering lips and insufficient sound I strive and struggle to deliver right the music of my nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/with-stammering-lips-and-insufficient-sound-i-strive-and-struggle-to/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [The charm, one might say the genius, of memory is that it is choosy, chancy and temperamental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-charm-one-might-say-the-genius-of-memory-is-that-it-is-choosy/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [The flower-girl's prayer to buy roses and pinks, held out in the smoke, like stars by day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-flower-girl-s-prayer-to-buy-roses-and-pinks-held-out-in-the-smoke/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [They say that God lives very high! But if you look above the pines You cannot see our God. And why? And if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/they-say-that-god-lives-very-high-but-if-you-look-above-the-pines-you/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Men of science, osteologists And surgeons, beat some poets, in respect For nature,-count nought common or unclean, Spend raptures upon perfect specimens Of indurated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/men-of-science-osteologists-and-surgeons-beat-some-poets-in-respect/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [We can't separate our humanity from our poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/we-can-t-separate-our-humanity-from-our-poetry/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Happy are all free peoples, too strong to be dispossessed. But blessed are those among nations who dare to be strong for the rest!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/happy-are-all-free-peoples-too-strong-to-be-dispossessed-but-blessed/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Suddenly, as rare things will, it vanished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/suddenly-as-rare-things-will-it-vanished/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) [Explore all 306 Elizabeth Barrett Browning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) ## More Chasms quotes > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My journey deep into coma, outside this lowly physical realm and into the loftiest dwelling place of the almighty Creator, revealed the indescribably immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eben-alexander/my-journey-deep-into-coma-outside-this-lowly-physical-realm-and-into/) [Eben Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eben-alexander/) > [Every reader should remember the diffidence of Socrates, and repair by his candour the injuries of time: he should impute the seeming defects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-reader-should-remember-the-diffidence-of-socrates-and-repair-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Alone of human beings the good and wise mother stands on a plane of equal honor with the bravest soldier; for she has gladly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/alone-of-human-beings-the-good-and-wise-mother-stands-on-a-plane-of/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Winds flap the sail, tortoise and snake are silent, a great plan looms. A bridge will fly over this moat dug by heaven and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/winds-flap-the-sail-tortoise-and-snake-are-silent-a-great-plan-looms/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [We need the historian and philosopher to give us with trenchant pen, the story of our forefathers, and let our soul and body, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-alfonso-schomburg/we-need-the-historian-and-philosopher-to-give-us-with-trenchant-pen/) [Arturo Alfonso Schomburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-alfonso-schomburg/) > [The intensive use of photographs by mass media lays ever fresh responsibilities upon the photographer. We have to acknowledge the existence of a chasm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/the-intensive-use-of-photographs-by-mass-media-lays-ever-fresh/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [Do not be afraid of taking a big step-you cannot cross a chasm in two steps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/do-not-be-afraid-of-taking-a-big-step-you-cannot-cross-a-chasm-in-two/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [There is no chasm in society that cannot be firmly and permanently bridged by intercession; there is no feud or dislike that cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brent/there-is-no-chasm-in-society-that-cannot-be-firmly-and-permanently/) [Charles Brent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brent/) > [We humans have always needed rituals to draw like curtains over the chasms of the unknown. Without them we go mad, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-j-williams/we-humans-have-always-needed-rituals-to-draw-like-curtains-over-the/) [Patricia J. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-j-williams/) > [The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/the-time-for-the-healing-of-the-wounds-has-come-the-moment-to-bridge/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [To be silent. In hopes of not offending, in hopes of being accepted. But what happened to people who never spoke, never raised their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/to-be-silent-in-hopes-of-not-offending-in-hopes-of-being-accepted-but/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [My older sister has entire kingdoms inside of her, and some of them are only accessible at certain seasons, in certain kinds of weather.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/my-older-sister-has-entire-kingdoms-inside-of-her-and-some-of-them/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [If the experience of leadership is like being at the edge of an unfamiliar chasm, the act of leadership is building a bridge across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-cashman/if-the-experience-of-leadership-is-like-being-at-the-edge-of-an/) [Kevin Cashman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-cashman/) [Browse all 132 Chasms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chasms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The great chasm between the thing I say, & the thing I would say, wd be quite dispiriting to me, in spite even of such kindnesses as yours, if the desire did not master the despondency.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Barrett Browning" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-great-chasm-between-the-thing-i-say-the-thing-i-would-say-wd-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chasms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-great-chasm-between-the-thing-i-say-the-thing-i-would-say-wd-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_chasms_the-great-chasm-between-the-thing-i-say_263062.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_chasms_the-great-chasm-between-the-thing-i-say_263062.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_chasms_the-great-chasm-between-the-thing-i-say_263062.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The great chasm between the thing I say, & the thing I would say, wd be quite dispiriting to me, in spite…” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning", "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": "Elizabeth Barrett Browning", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The great chasm between the thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-great-chasm-between-the-thing-i-say-the-thing-i-would-say-wd-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-great-chasm-between-the-thing-i-say-the-thing-i-would-say-wd-be/#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 } } ] } ```