---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had lost the capacity of personal…"
description: "\"“He had lost the capacity of personal suffering, or he thought he had, and could only be hurt truly by what happened to others.”\" — Ernest Hemingway"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/ernest-hemingway-83_garden-of-eden_he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suf_700522.jpg"
---

#  He had lost the capacity of personal suffering, or he…

![“He had lost the capacity of personal suffering, or he thought he had, and could only be hurt truly by what happened to others.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/ernest-hemingway-83_garden-of-eden_he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suf_700522.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/ernest-hemingway-83_garden-of-eden_he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suf_700522.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/ernest-hemingway-83_garden-of-eden_he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suf_700522.jpg)

> ““He had lost the capacity of personal suffering, or he thought he had, and could only be hurt truly by what happened to others.””

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A person may become numb to personal pain, feeling only empathy for others' suffering.

**In simple terms:** He lost personal pain, feeling others' hurt.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate self‑awareness.

Themes

empathy detachment pain

Mood

melancholic thoughtful

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- counseling
- relationship dynamics
- leadership

Key Concepts

psychology literature

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you feel more for others than yourself?
- How to balance empathy with self‑care?

A Different Perspective

Numbness may hinder personal healing.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Garden of eden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden-of-eden/) [Hurt Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt-truly-239677/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Personal Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-suffering-1455001/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-thought-2485171/) [Thought Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-hurt-397807/)

## Related quotes

> [“Master Nathaniel looked at him. The fixed stare, the slightly-open mouth, the rigid motionless body, fettered by a misery too profound for restlessness —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-mirrlees/master-nathaniel-looked-at-him-the-fixed-stare-the-slightly-open/)

[Hope Mirrlees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-mirrlees/)

> [“The sick constriction of the heart was undeniable; there was a melancholy truth in the fact that it was suffering which made me, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-hayes/the-sick-constriction-of-the-heart-was-undeniable-there-was-a/)

[Alfred Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-hayes/)

> [On the third day in India, I realized people were not suffering as much as I thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-turner/on-the-third-day-in-india-i-realized-people-were-not-suffering-as/)

[Tina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-turner/)

> [“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/)

> [“In spite of my suffering, at the thought that I was sure to end up by killing myself, I cried aloud and burst into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/in-spite-of-my-suffering-at-the-thought-that-i-was-sure-to-end-up-by/)

[Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/)

> [“Suffering, he thought later, could rob a man of his empathy, could turn him selfish, could make him depreciate all other sufferers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/suffering-he-thought-later-could-rob-a-man-of-his-empathy-could-turn/)

[Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/)

> [He had uttered a mad wish that he himself might remain untarnished, and the face on the canvas bear the burden of his passions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/he-had-uttered-a-mad-wish-that-he-himself-might-remain-untarnished/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Being hurt by someone you truly care about leaves a hole in you heart that only love can fill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/being-hurt-by-someone-you-truly-care-about-leaves-a-hole-in-you-heart/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [FEELINGS ARE THE MOST DELICATE THINGS IN LIFE, NEVER HURT THEM WHEN ANYONE TRULY SHOWS TO YOU, BECAUSE A GREAT SAYING SAYS, TODAY IT'S…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/feelings-are-the-most-delicate-things-in-life-never-hurt-them-when/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A goodbye will only hurt if you truly loved the person in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/a-goodbye-will-only-hurt-if-you-truly-loved-the-person-in-the-first/)

[Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/)

> [“No one ever hurt you truly like you hurt yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-ever-hurt-you-truly-like-you-hurt-yourself/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“No one every hurt you truly like you hurt yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bee-chanmany/no-one-every-hurt-you-truly-like-you-hurt-yourself/)

[Bee Chanmany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bee-chanmany/)

> [Im sorry for everyone ive ever hurt, I know how it feels to be hurt and I'm truly sorry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-for-everyone-ive-ever-hurt-i-know-how-it-feels-to-be-hurt/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [No Matter How Much A Person Will Hurt You, If You Truly Love Them, You'll Only Remember Those Beautiful Moments With Them..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yadhowardhan/no-matter-how-much-a-person-will-hurt-you-if-you-truly-love-them-you-2/)

[Yadhowardhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yadhowardhan/)

> [No Matter How Much A Person Will Hurt You. If You Truly Love Them, You'll Only Remember Those Beautiful Memories With Them..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yashowardhan/no-matter-how-much-a-person-will-hurt-you-if-you-truly-love-them-you/)

[Yashowardhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yashowardhan/)

## More by Ernest Hemingway

> [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

[Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

## More Garden of eden quotes

> [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/)

[Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/)

> [“submittin’ to my husband ain’t never been my strong point. I be tryin’, Lord knows I do. And it help when you got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-stimpson/submittin-to-my-husband-ain-t-never-been-my-strong-point-i-be-tryin/)

[Michelle Stimpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-stimpson/)

> [“Ô, Wanderess, Wanderess When did you feel your most euphoric kiss? Was I the source of your greatest bliss?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/wanderess-wanderess-when-did-you-feel-your-most-euphoric-kiss-was-i/)

[Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/)

> [“The question is banal but one of the real troubles with living is that living is so banal. Everyone, after all, goes the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin-giovanni-s-room/the-question-is-banal-but-one-of-the-real-troubles-with-living-is/)

[James Baldwin Giovanni's Room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin-giovanni-s-room/)

> [“Maybe that's why God had placed the angel at the Garden of Eden—to keep people away from the Tree of Life? Not to prevent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jody-hedlund/maybe-that-s-why-god-had-placed-the-angel-at-the-garden-of-eden-to/)

[Jody Hedlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jody-hedlund/)

> [“I especially loved the Old Testament. Even as a kid I had a sense of it being slightly illicit. As though someone had slipped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/i-especially-loved-the-old-testament-even-as-a-kid-i-had-a-sense-of/)

[Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/)

> [Adam, who said to our Lord in the Garden of Eden, I got more ribs - you got more broads? Never got a dinner!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/adam-who-said-to-our-lord-in-the-garden-of-eden-i-got-more-ribs-you/)

[Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/)

> [“In the first movement, our infancy as a species, we felt no separation from the natural world around us. Trees, rocks, and plants surrounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/in-the-first-movement-our-infancy-as-a-species-we-felt-no-separation/)

[Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/)

> [“The Garden of Eden, no doubt, looked fair before man was, but I always think that it must have been fairer when Eve adorned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/the-garden-of-eden-no-doubt-looked-fair-before-man-was-but-i-always/)

[H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/)

> [“It is no accident that the Atonement will begin, as did the Fall, in a Garden. And it is no accident as well that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-ferrell/it-is-no-accident-that-the-atonement-will-begin-as-did-the-fall-in-a/)

[James L. Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-ferrell/)

> [“Acknowledgements! My thanks to Hollywood When you showed me John Rambo Stitching up his arm with no anaesthetic And giving them “a war they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/acknowledgements-my-thanks-to-hollywood-when-you-showed-me-john-rambo/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [ “\[The Christian story\] amounts to a refusal to affirm life. In the biblical tradition we have inherited, life is corrupt, and every natural impulse… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-christian-story-amounts-to-a-refusal-to-affirm-life-in-the/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [In the Garden of Eden, figuring out what to wear was easy and the fig leaves were environmentally friendly. Today, it's much harder to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/in-the-garden-of-eden-figuring-out-what-to-wear-was-easy-and-the-fig/)

[Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/)

> [To try to convey literally what the Garden of Eden was like is meaningless. What matters is its symbolic function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/to-try-to-convey-literally-what-the-garden-of-eden-was-like-is/)

[David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/)

> [“There’s a lot of dirty theology out there, the religious counterpart to dirty politics and dirty business, I suppose. You might call it spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/there-s-a-lot-of-dirty-theology-out-there-the-religious-counterpart/)

[Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/)

[Browse all 238 Garden of eden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden-of-eden/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“He had lost the capacity of personal suffering, or he thought he had, and could only be hurt truly by what happened to others.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ernest Hemingway"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suffering-or-he-thought-he-had/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Garden of eden"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suffering-or-he-thought-he-had/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/ernest-hemingway-83_garden-of-eden_he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suf_700522.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/ernest-hemingway-83_garden-of-eden_he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suf_700522.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/ernest-hemingway-83_garden-of-eden_he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suf_700522.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“He had lost the capacity of personal suffering, or he thought he had, and could only be hurt truly by what…” — Ernest Hemingway",
                "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": "Ernest Hemingway",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“He had lost the capacity of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suffering-or-he-thought-he-had/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suffering-or-he-thought-he-had/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
