--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All were in sorrow, or had been, or soon…" description: "\"“All were in sorrow, or had been, or soon would be. roger bevins iii It was the nature of things. hans vollman Though on the surface it seemed every pe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/george-saunders-317_death_all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-w_277867.jpg" --- # All were in sorrow, or had been, or soon would be. roger… ![“All were in sorrow, or had been, or soon would be. roger bevins iii It was the nature of things. hans vollman Though on the surface it seemed every person was different, this was not true. roger bevins iii At the core of each lay suffering; our eventual end, the many losses we must experience on…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/george-saunders-317_death_all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-w_277867.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/george-saunders-317_death_all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-w_277867.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/george-saunders-317_death_all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-w_277867.jpg) > ““All were in sorrow, or had been, or soon would be. roger bevins iii It was the nature of things. hans vollman Though on the surface it seemed every person was different, this was not true. roger bevins iii At the core of each lay suffering; our eventual end, the many losses we must experience on the way to that end. hans vollman We must try to see one another in this way. roger bevins iii As suffering, limited beings— hans vollman Perennially outmatched by circumstance, inadequately endowed with compensatory graces. roger bevins iii”” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on universal suffering, inevitable loss, and the need for empathy toward others' hardships. **In simple terms:** Everyone experiences loss and suffering; we should empathize. Key Takeaway Recognize shared pain and practice compassion. Themes empathy ufferinguffering human condition compassion Mood reflective somber thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief counseling - medical care - conflict resolution - community building - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can you actively show empathy to those suffering? - What habits can you develop to accept loss? A Different Perspective The poetic style may obscure practical application for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [“All were in sorrow, or had been, or soon would be. It was the nature of things. Though on the surface is seemed every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-would-be-it-was-the-nature-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“We must try to see one another in this way. roger bevins iii As suffering, limited beings— hans vollman”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-try-to-see-one-another-in-this-way-roger-bevins-iii-as/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“At the core of each lay suffering; our eventual end, the many losses we must experience on the way to that end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/at-the-core-of-each-lay-suffering-our-eventual-end-the-many-losses-we/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Understand this first and foremost that you are the center of your existence; nobody else is responsible. No matter how burdensome it feels, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/understand-this-first-and-foremost-that-you-are-the-center-of-your/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [“The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-great-scene-of-grief-in-which-the-wild-infant-bore-a-part-had/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Suffering is one very long moment. We cannot divide it by seasons. We can only record its moods, and chronicle their return. With us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/suffering-is-one-very-long-moment-we-cannot-divide-it-by-seasons-we/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [In the mind engaged in struggling with hardship, one always finds something delightful. The sorrow of disappointment arises in the complacency of satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zicheng-hong/in-the-mind-engaged-in-struggling-with-hardship-one-always-finds/) [Zicheng Hong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zicheng-hong/) > [In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and to the young, it comes with bitterest agony because it takes them unawares.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-this-sad-world-of-ours-sorrow-comes-to-all-and-to-the-young-it/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Everyone is in pain.No matter where they come from or what u think of them. Sorrow spares no one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/everyone-is-in-pain-no-matter-where-they-come-from-or-what-u-think-of/) Hemantsmarty > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) Louaiq8 > [Sorrow burns up a great amount of shallowness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/sorrow-burns-up-a-great-amount-of-shallowness/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“Without a song, life is a sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/without-a-song-life-is-a-sorrow/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Sorrow and happiness are the heresies of virtue; joy and anger lead astray from TAO; love and hate cause loss of virtue. The heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/sorrow-and-happiness-are-the-heresies-of-virtue-joy-and-anger-lead/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All were in sorrow, or had been, or soon would be. roger bevins iii It was the nature of things. hans vollman Though on the surface it seemed every person was different, this was not true. roger bevins iii At the core of each lay suffering; our eventual end, the many losses we must experience on the way to that end. hans vollman We must try to see one another in this way. roger bevins iii As suffering, limited beings— hans vollman Perennially outmatched by circumstance, inadequately endowed with compensatory graces. roger bevins iii”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Saunders" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-would-be-roger-bevins-iii-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-would-be-roger-bevins-iii-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/george-saunders-317_death_all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-w_277867.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/george-saunders-317_death_all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-w_277867.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/george-saunders-317_death_all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-w_277867.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All were in sorrow, or had been, or soon would be. roger bevins iii It was the nature of things. hans…” — George Saunders", "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": "George Saunders", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“All were in sorrow, or had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-would-be-roger-bevins-iii-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/all-were-in-sorrow-or-had-been-or-soon-would-be-roger-bevins-iii-it/#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 } } ] } ```