--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Then he was sorry for the great fish…" description: "\"“Then he was sorry for the great fish... How many people will he feed?.. But are they worthy to eat him? No, of course, not. There is no one worthy of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/ernest-hemingway-83_dignity_then-he-was-sorry-for-the-great-fish-how_248112.jpg" --- # Then he was sorry for the great fish... How many people… ![“Then he was sorry for the great fish... How many people will he feed?.. But are they worthy to eat him? No, of course, not. There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behavior and his great dignity.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/ernest-hemingway-83_dignity_then-he-was-sorry-for-the-great-fish-how_248112.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/ernest-hemingway-83_dignity_then-he-was-sorry-for-the-great-fish-how_248112.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/ernest-hemingway-83_dignity_then-he-was-sorry-for-the-great-fish-how_248112.jpg) > ““Then he was sorry for the great fish... How many people will he feed?.. But are they worthy to eat him? No, of course, not. There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behavior and his great dignity.”” [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. The narrator questions the value of consuming a noble creature, suggesting that dignity and behavior outweigh mere sustenance. **In simple terms:** Dignity matters more than eating a great fish. Key Takeaway Respect worthiness, not just utility. Themes ethics respect dignity Mood thoughtful contemplative serious Type literary ethical When to use this quote - food ethics debates - leadership decisions - personal integrity - cultural traditions Key Concepts philosophy morality value Questions to Reflect On - Is it always right to reject something valuable because of perceived unworthiness? - How do we balance dignity with necessity? A Different Perspective It may overlook practical needs in favor of idealism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“How many people will he feed, he thought. But are they worthy to eat him? No, of course not. There is no one worthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/how-many-people-will-he-feed-he-thought-but-are-they-worthy-to-eat/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The old man's head was clear and good now and he was full of resolution but he had little hope. It was too good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-s-head-was-clear-and-good-now-and-he-was-full-of/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Beware of the fish people, they are the true enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/beware-of-the-fish-people-they-are-the-true-enemy/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [“Then he began to pity the great fish that he had hooked. He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/then-he-began-to-pity-the-great-fish-that-he-had-hooked-he-is-2/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Then he began to pity the great fish that he had hooked. He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/then-he-began-to-pity-the-great-fish-that-he-had-hooked-he-is/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“He is a great fish and I must convince him, he thought. I must never let him learn his strength nor what he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-is-a-great-fish-and-i-must-convince-him-he-thought-i-must-never-2/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“He is a great fish and I must convince him, he thought. 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I grill it, get the skin nice and crispy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/i-cook-a-great-fish-a-great-salmon-i-grill-it-get-the-skin-nice-and/) [Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/) > [A great lie is like a great fish on dry land; it may fret and fling and make a frightful bother, but it cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crabbe/a-great-lie-is-like-a-great-fish-on-dry-land-it-may-fret-and-fling/) [George Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crabbe/) > [The great fish eat the small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-barclay/the-great-fish-eat-the-small/) Alexander Barclay > [“...as a mark of gratitude for his previous patronage, and a slight super-added morsel after breakfast, put likewise into his hand a whale! The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/as-a-mark-of-gratitude-for-his-previous-patronage-and-a-slight-super/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [There's plenty of fish in the sea? That's great for the fish but what about me!?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-blue-wolf/there-s-plenty-of-fish-in-the-sea-that-s-great-for-the-fish-but-what/) Chris Blue Wolf ## 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. 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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 Dignity quotes > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera > [I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-speak-not-for-myself-but-so-those-without-a-voice-can-be-heard/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The dignity of man is in free choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-frisch/the-dignity-of-man-is-in-free-choice/) [Max Frisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-frisch/) > [One of the things I love about Africa is the amount of dignity and respect and humility you see all the time. You don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/one-of-the-things-i-love-about-africa-is-the-amount-of-dignity-and/) [Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/) > [It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned-to-endure-what-he-cannot/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. Here, too, the real advantage of male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/daily-contact-with-some-teachers-is-itself-all-sided-ethical/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [A man, as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man was capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor/a-man-as-a-man-could-arrive-at-all-the-dignity-that-a-man-was-capable/) [John Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor/) > [There is something to be said for anyone who sits alone with dignity and silently begs for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-something-to-be-said-for-anyone-who-sits-alone-with-dignity/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I just remember that disturbing feeling of walking into that prison, the complete loss of privacy, the complete loss of stimulation, dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/i-just-remember-that-disturbing-feeling-of-walking-into-that-prison/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [Henry Kissinger may have wished I had presented him as a combination of Charles DeGaulle and Disraeli, but I didn't…out of respect for DeGaulle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/henry-kissinger-may-have-wished-i-had-presented-him-as-a-combination/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [The dignity of a woman's life is infinite, her status immeasurable, her capacity unbounded, her role divine...In the fast changing world of today her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/the-dignity-of-a-woman-s-life-is-infinite-her-status-immeasurable-her/) [Maharishi Mahesh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/) [Browse all 3,116 Dignity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Then he was sorry for the great fish... 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