--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot love thee; thou 'rt worse than…" description: "\"I cannot love thee; thou 'rt worse than thy brother. Go, say thy prayers, child, and ask God's pardon. I doubt thy mother and I must rue that we ever r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/emily-bronte-574_asks_i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-th_2868035.png" --- # I cannot love thee; thou 'rt worse than thy brother. Go… ![“I cannot love thee; thou 'rt worse than thy brother. Go, say thy prayers, child, and ask God's pardon. I doubt thy mother and I must rue that we ever reared thee!” quote by Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/emily-bronte-574_asks_i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-th_2868035.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/emily-bronte-574_asks_i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-th_2868035.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/emily-bronte-574_asks_i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-th_2868035.png) > “I cannot love thee; thou 'rt worse than thy brother. Go, say thy prayers, child, and ask God's pardon. I doubt thy mother and I must rue that we ever reared thee!” [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) ## 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 condemns a child’s moral failings, urging prayer and divine forgiveness. **In simple terms:** Condemns child’s sins, seeks forgiveness. Key Takeaway Encourage moral reflection. Themes morality family religion Mood somber critical Type literary emotional When to use this quote - family counseling - spiritual guidance - ethical education Key Concepts sin redemption parental disappointment Questions to Reflect On - How does condemnation affect growth? - What role does prayer play in forgiveness? A Different Perspective Harsh judgment may alienate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Pardon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pardon/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) ## Related quotes > [“Thou, -- dost thou pray?” cried Giovanni, still with the same fiendish scorn. “Thy very prayers, as they come from thy lips, taint the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/thou-dost-thou-pray-cried-giovanni-still-with-the-same-fiendish-scorn/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Leo cried, "Hold on! Let's have some manners here. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?" "I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/leo-cried-hold-on-let-s-have-some-manners-here-can-i-at-least-find/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“I have a brother. They say, you put us together, we are like one person, you know? When we are young, his hair, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-have-a-brother-they-say-you-put-us-together-we-are-like-one-person/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Love one another like sisters and brother is a say that we say every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-youth/love-one-another-like-sisters-and-brother-is-a-say-that-we-say-every/) [Big Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-youth/) > [Be proud that thou art an Indian, and proudly proclaim, "I am an Indian, every Indian is my brother." Say, "The ignorant Indian, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/be-proud-that-thou-art-an-indian-and-proudly-proclaim-i-am-an-indian/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“...if you hear your brother say something that is strange to you, do not refute it right away, but listen first to determine whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-denck/if-you-hear-your-brother-say-something-that-is-strange-to-you-do-not/) Hans Denck > [My brother and I always say we were each other's first friend, first and best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-evans/my-brother-and-i-always-say-we-were-each-other-s-first-friend-first/) [Scott Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-evans/) > [“Thanks, Tink, for being a good brother to me," I say, misting up a bit. "She's a fine girl, and I just know you'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-meyer/thanks-tink-for-being-a-good-brother-to-me-i-say-misting-up-a-bit-she/) [L.A. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-meyer/) > [And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-the-evangelist/and-why-beholdest-thou-the-mote-that-is-in-thy-brother-s-eye-but/) [Luke the Evangelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-the-evangelist/) > [It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/it-is-good-neither-to-eat-flesh-nor-to-drink-wine-nor-any-thing/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [O brother man! fold to thy heart thy brother; Where pity dwells, the peace of God is there; To worship rightly is to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/o-brother-man-fold-to-thy-heart-thy-brother-where-pity-dwells-the/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [The only person talking about love thy brother is the preacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-temptations/the-only-person-talking-about-love-thy-brother-is-the-preacher/) [The Temptations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-temptations/) > [If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrong-doing, but more than ever that he is thy brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-thy-brother-wrongs-thee-remember-not-so-much-his-wrong-doing-but/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Help thy brother's boat across, and Lo! Thine own has reached the shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hindu-proverb/help-thy-brother-s-boat-across-and-lo-thine-own-has-reached-the-shore/) Hindu Proverb > [Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother. A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am-2/not-respectin-each-other-deny-thy-brother-a-war-is-goin-on-but-the/) [Will I Am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am-2/) ## More by Emily Bronte > [Honest people don't hide their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/honest-people-don-t-hide-their-deeds/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [He is more myself than I am. Whatever our two souls are made of, his and mine are the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/he-is-more-myself-than-i-am-whatever-our-two-souls-are-made-of-his/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I shall smile when wreaths of snow Blossom where the rose should grow; I shall sing when night's decay Ushers in a drearier day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-shall-smile-when-wreaths-of-snow-blossom-where-the-rose-should-grow/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [how cruel, your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/how-cruel-your-veins-are-full-of-ice-water-and-mine-are-boiling/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will changeit,I'mwellaware, aswinterchangesthetrees. My Love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneatha…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/my-love-for-linton-is-like-the-foliage-in-the-woods-time-will/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free; and laughing at injuries, not maddening under them! Why am I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-wish-i-were-a-girl-again-half-savage-and-hardy-and-free-and/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [The entire world is a collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-entire-world-is-a-collection-of-memoranda-that-she-did-exist-and/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“Papa talks enough of my defects, and shows enough scorn of me, to make it natural I should doubt myself. I doubt whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/papa-talks-enough-of-my-defects-and-shows-enough-scorn-of-me-to-make/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“Mama never told me I had a father.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/mama-never-told-me-i-had-a-father/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [The intense horror of nightmare came over me: I tried to draw back my arm, but the hand clung to it, and a most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-intense-horror-of-nightmare-came-over-me-i-tried-to-draw-back-my/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“It is not in him to be loved like me: how can she love in him what he has not?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/it-is-not-in-him-to-be-loved-like-me-how-can-she-love-in-him-what-he/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I have lost the faculty of enjoying their destruction, and I am too idle to destroy for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-have-lost-the-faculty-of-enjoying-their-destruction-and-i-am-too/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/my-love-for-heathcliff-resembles-the-eternal-rocks-beneath-a-source/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [Tis moonlight, summer moonlight, All soft and still and fair; The solemn hour of midnight Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere, But most where trees are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/tis-moonlight-summer-moonlight-all-soft-and-still-and-fair-the-solemn/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“It expressed, plainer than words could do, the intense anguish at having made himself the instrument of thwarting his own revenge. Had it been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/it-expressed-plainer-than-words-could-do-the-intense-anguish-at/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) [Explore all 400 Emily Bronte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I cannot love thee; thou 'rt worse than thy brother. Go, say thy prayers, child, and ask God's pardon. I doubt thy mother and I must rue that we ever reared thee!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Bronte" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-thy-brother-go-say-thy-prayers/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-thy-brother-go-say-thy-prayers/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/emily-bronte-574_asks_i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-th_2868035.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/emily-bronte-574_asks_i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-th_2868035.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/emily-bronte-574_asks_i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-th_2868035.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I cannot love thee; thou 'rt worse than thy brother. Go, say thy prayers, child, and ask God's pardon. I…” — Emily Bronte", "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": "Emily Bronte", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I cannot love thee; thou 'rt...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-thy-brother-go-say-thy-prayers/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-thy-brother-go-say-thy-prayers/#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 } } ] } ```