--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The smallest coffins are the heaviest." description: "\"The smallest coffins are the heaviest.\" — Ernest Hemingway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/ernest-hemingway-83_coffins_the-smallest-coffins-are-the-heaviest-10_1029967.jpg" --- # The smallest coffins are the heaviest. ![“The smallest coffins are the heaviest.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/ernest-hemingway-83_coffins_the-smallest-coffins-are-the-heaviest-10_1029967.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/ernest-hemingway-83_coffins_the-smallest-coffins-are-the-heaviest-10_1029967.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/ernest-hemingway-83_coffins_the-smallest-coffins-are-the-heaviest-10_1029967.jpg) > “The smallest coffins are the heaviest.” [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. Even small burdens can feel overwhelming when they carry deep emotional weight. **In simple terms:** Small things can feel heavy. Key Takeaway Recognize and address hidden emotional loads. Themes burden emotion resilience Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary psychological When to use this quote - grief counseling - stress management - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What small burden feels heavy to you now? - How can you lighten emotional weight? A Different Perspective Not all heaviness is literal; some are mental. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coffins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffins/) [Coffins Heaviest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffins-heaviest-2346188/) [Heaviest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaviest/) [Smallest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smallest/) [Smallest Coffins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smallest-coffins-2346187/) ## Related quotes > [“Knowledge is the heaviest weight of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/knowledge-is-the-heaviest-weight-of-all/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [I had to work to put myself through school, so I always worked in the heaviest industries I could find because that's who paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-burtynsky/i-had-to-work-to-put-myself-through-school-so-i-always-worked-in-the/) [Edward Burtynsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-burtynsky/) > [You could say, 'Oh, we're gonna write the heaviest album of all time' or 'We're gonna write an album that sounds like 'Iowa.'' Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-root/you-could-say-oh-we-re-gonna-write-the-heaviest-album-of-all-time-or/) [Jim Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-root/) > [“Justin Biebuồi, the biggest, heaviest fly ever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-xyzz-xcancer/justin-biebu-i-the-biggest-heaviest-fly-ever/) [St. Xyzz XCancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-xyzz-xcancer/) > [“We were playing this music and we were trying to be the heaviest thing on the face of the planet. We wanted just to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-mudrian/we-were-playing-this-music-and-we-were-trying-to-be-the-heaviest/) [Albert Mudrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-mudrian/) > [When I was teaching I'd go to some schools where no one wanted to dance - when they came into the room it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlene-phillips/when-i-was-teaching-i-d-go-to-some-schools-where-no-one-wanted-to/) [Arlene Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlene-phillips/) > [The heaviest burden that one has to bear in this life is the burden of sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-b-lee/the-heaviest-burden-that-one-has-to-bear-in-this-life-is-the-burden/) [Harold B. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-b-lee/) > [“The heart is heaviest when it’s empty and lightest when it’s full”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-scott-taylor/the-heart-is-heaviest-when-it-s-empty-and-lightest-when-it-s-full/) [Helen Scott Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-scott-taylor/) > [To be enslaved to oneself is the heaviest of all servitudes.-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/to-be-enslaved-to-oneself-is-the-heaviest-of-all-servitudes/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [I have the heaviest hands in my division.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-garbrandt/i-have-the-heaviest-hands-in-my-division/) [Cody Garbrandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-garbrandt/) > [As Mick Jagger will tell you, performing is an aerobic work-out. I've got the bass guitar, which is the heaviest of all the instruments,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzi-quatro/as-mick-jagger-will-tell-you-performing-is-an-aerobic-work-out-i-ve/) [Suzi Quatro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzi-quatro/) > [At my heaviest, I was 5'8" and 175 pounds. I ate well, but in too large quantities, and I rarely made a concerted effort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-oz/at-my-heaviest-i-was-5-8-and-175-pounds-i-ate-well-but-in-too-large/) [Daphne Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-oz/) > [In infamy, it is wisely provided that he who stands highest in the ranks of society has the heaviest load to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/in-infamy-it-is-wisely-provided-that-he-who-stands-highest-in-the/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [The heaviest I've ever been is 65 kilos. That was during my Leaving Cert when I was just studying and eating chocolate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-taylor/the-heaviest-i-ve-ever-been-is-65-kilos-that-was-during-my-leaving/) [Katie Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-taylor/) > [Every one thinkes his sacke heaviest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/every-one-thinkes-his-sacke-heaviest/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) ## 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 Coffins quotes > [His smile is like the silver plate on a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philpot-curran/his-smile-is-like-the-silver-plate-on-a-coffin/) [John Philpot Curran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-philpot-curran/) > [At my funeral, if one said, 'Nick was a generous person,' trust me I won't be doing cartwheels in my coffin. Recognition from people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/at-my-funeral-if-one-said-nick-was-a-generous-person-trust-me-i-won-t/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [Well, I guess I am about the livest dead man you ever saw; although I was once asked to accept a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rice/well-i-guess-i-am-about-the-livest-dead-man-you-ever-saw-although-i/) [Dan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rice/) > [She wanted to be buried in a coffin filled with used paperbacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/she-wanted-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin-filled-with-used-paperbacks/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [I don't think we have all the words in a single vocabulary to explain what we are or why we are. I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/i-don-t-think-we-have-all-the-words-in-a-single-vocabulary-to-explain/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The reason they invented coffins, to lock the dead in, preserve them, they put makeup on them; they didn't want them spreading or changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-reason-they-invented-coffins-to-lock-the-dead-in-preserve-them/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [One of the lessons learned during the Vietnam War was that the depiction of wounded soldiers, of coffins stacked higher than their living guards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/one-of-the-lessons-learned-during-the-vietnam-war-was-that-the/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [For me, curiosity is life. If you are not curious, you are in your coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-boulez/for-me-curiosity-is-life-if-you-are-not-curious-you-are-in-your-coffin/) [Pierre Boulez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-boulez/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [We all have two lives: The true, the one we dreamed of in childhood And go on dreaming of as adults in a substratum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/we-all-have-two-lives-the-true-the-one-we-dreamed-of-in-childhood-and/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Childhood is long and narrow like a coffin, and you can't get out of it on your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-ditlevsen/childhood-is-long-and-narrow-like-a-coffin-and-you-can-t-get-out-of/) [Tove Ditlevsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-ditlevsen/) > [Science itself is steadily nailing the lid on atheism's coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-strobel/science-itself-is-steadily-nailing-the-lid-on-atheism-s-coffin/) [Lee Strobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-strobel/) > [Now hoppin'-john was F. Jasmine's very favorite food. She had always warned them to wave a plate of rice and peas before her nose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/now-hoppin-john-was-f-jasmine-s-very-favorite-food-she-had-always/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [I understand the power and the alarm of words - Not those that they applaud from theatre-boxes, but those which make coffins break from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/i-understand-the-power-and-the-alarm-of-words-not-those-that-they/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) [Browse all 250 Coffins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffins/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The smallest coffins are the heaviest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Hemingway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-smallest-coffins-are-the-heaviest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coffins" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-smallest-coffins-are-the-heaviest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/ernest-hemingway-83_coffins_the-smallest-coffins-are-the-heaviest-10_1029967.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/ernest-hemingway-83_coffins_the-smallest-coffins-are-the-heaviest-10_1029967.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/ernest-hemingway-83_coffins_the-smallest-coffins-are-the-heaviest-10_1029967.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The smallest coffins are the heaviest.” — 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": "The smallest coffins are the heaviest.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-smallest-coffins-are-the-heaviest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-smallest-coffins-are-the-heaviest/#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 } } ] } ```