--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: it is a surprising thing that the largest…" description: "\"it is a surprising thing that the largest city in the world should have a population as gentle and pleasant and intimate and considerate and comforting..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/gertrude-stein-667_astonishing_it-is-a-surprising-thing-that-the-larges_2164725.jpg" --- # it is a surprising thing that the largest city in the… ![“it is a surprising thing that the largest city in the world should have a population as gentle and pleasant and intimate and considerate and comforting as a little bit of a place where everybody knows everybody and everything, but astonishing or not it is perfectly true and the inhabitants of New…” quote by Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/gertrude-stein-667_astonishing_it-is-a-surprising-thing-that-the-larges_2164725.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/gertrude-stein-667_astonishing_it-is-a-surprising-thing-that-the-larges_2164725.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/gertrude-stein-667_astonishing_it-is-a-surprising-thing-that-the-larges_2164725.jpg) > “it is a surprising thing that the largest city in the world should have a population as gentle and pleasant and intimate and considerate and comforting as a little bit of a place where everybody knows everybody and everything, but astonishing or not it is perfectly true and the inhabitants of New York are just like that, and they are like that and this thing is a delightful, natural and gentle and sweet and comforting thing.” [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even the largest city can feel intimate and supportive when its residents know each other. **In simple terms:** Cities can foster close, comforting community. Key Takeaway Cultivate neighborly connections in urban life. Themes community urban life human connection Mood reflective hopeful Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - neighborhood events - local businesses - public spaces - community apps Key Concepts social capital city sociology Questions to Reflect On - What small actions can make a city feel smaller? - How do digital platforms affect neighborhood bonds? A Different Perspective Urban anonymity can hinder such intimacy despite efforts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astonishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishing/) [Bits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bits/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Cities in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities-in-the-world/) [Comforting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting/) [Considerate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considerate/) [Considerate Comforting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considerate-comforting-4607921/) [Delightful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delightful/) [Gentle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentle/) [Gentle Pleasant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentle-pleasant-2938790/) [Intimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimate/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Little bit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-bit/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Pleasant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasant/) [Pleasant Intimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasant-intimate-4607919/) [Population](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/population/) [Population Gentle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/population-gentle-4607920/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Should have](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-have/) [Surprising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprising/) [Surprising things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprising-things/) [Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york/) ## Related quotes > [It is wonderful how attractive a gentle, pleasant manner is, and how much it wins hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-wonderful-how-attractive-a-gentle-pleasant-manner-is-and-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I knew I'd miss you. But the surprising thing is, you never leave me. I never forget a thing. Every kind of love, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lynn-anderson/i-knew-i-d-miss-you-but-the-surprising-thing-is-you-never-leave-me-i/) [Jodi Lynn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lynn-anderson/) > [Such is the role of poetry. It unveils, in the strict sense of the word. It lays bare, under a light which shakes off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/such-is-the-role-of-poetry-it-unveils-in-the-strict-sense-of-the-word/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Writing a story requires you to understand how the world works, how characters think, how their emotions drive them to do surprising things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farland/writing-a-story-requires-you-to-understand-how-the-world-works-how/) [David Farland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farland/) > [Considering the absence of legal coercion, the surprising thing is that men have for so long, and, on the whole, so reliably, adhered to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/considering-the-absence-of-legal-coercion-the-surprising-thing-is/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [You can analyse a joke and say it's funny because this guy thought this was going to happen, and that happened, and it's surprising.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/you-can-analyse-a-joke-and-say-it-s-funny-because-this-guy-thought/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [The surprising thing about this paper is that a man who could write it would.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/the-surprising-thing-about-this-paper-is-that-a-man-who-could-write/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [Desperation can make a person do surprising things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/desperation-can-make-a-person-do-surprising-things/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [When I was younger, I was always described as happy-go-lucky. Then I drank and I partied - did all that stuff that might tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-fox/when-i-was-younger-i-was-always-described-as-happy-go-lucky-then-i/) [Michael J. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-fox/) > [“Sometimes the most surprising things happen from our mistakes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleen-patrick/sometimes-the-most-surprising-things-happen-from-our-mistakes/) [Coleen Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleen-patrick/) > [One of the surprising things that Brezhnev said when we were in our talks, was - when I proposed that we make these changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-surprising-things-that-brezhnev-said-when-we-were-in-our/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [the main necessity on both sides of a revolution is kindness, which makes possible the most surprising things. To treat one's neighbor as oneself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-main-necessity-on-both-sides-of-a-revolution-is-kindness-which/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Therapy isn't Radio.We don't need to constantly fill the air with sounds. Sometimes, when its quite, surprising things happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/therapy-isn-t-radio-we-don-t-need-to-constantly-fill-the-air-with/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [The most surprising thing to me is what an incredibly intense effort it's been to create a world from the ground up. I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veena-sud/the-most-surprising-thing-to-me-is-what-an-incredibly-intense-effort/) [Veena Sud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veena-sud/) > [If an unusual necessity forces us onward, a surprising thing occurs. The fatigue gets worse up to a certain point, when, gradually or suddenly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-an-unusual-necessity-forces-us-onward-a-surprising-thing-occurs/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More by Gertrude Stein > [I certainly do care for you Jeff Campbell less than you are always thinking and much more than you are ever knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-certainly-do-care-for-you-jeff-campbell-less-than-you-are-always/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“When is there some discharge when. There never is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/when-is-there-some-discharge-when-there-never-is/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [There is no such thing as repetition. Only insistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/there-is-no-such-thing-as-repetition-only-insistance/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I am I because my little dog knows me but, creatively speaking the little dog knowing that you are you and your recognising that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-am-i-because-my-little-dog-knows-me-but-creatively-speaking-the/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [How likely are definitions to be pleasurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/how-likely-are-definitions-to-be-pleasurable/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [ “What is the answer?" \[ I \[Alice B Toklas\] was silent \] In that case, what is the question?” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/what-is-the-answer-i-alice-b-toklas-was-silent-in-that-case-what-is/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [More and more I like to take a train. I understand why the French prefer it to automobiling it is so much more sociable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/more-and-more-i-like-to-take-a-train-i-understand-why-the-french/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Adventure is making the distant approach nearer but romance is having what is where it is which is not where you are stay where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/adventure-is-making-the-distant-approach-nearer-but-romance-is-having/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Forensics is eloquence and reduction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/forensics-is-eloquence-and-reduction/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Eating and sleeping are not like loving and breathing. Washing is not like eating and sleeping. Believing is like breathing and loving. Religion can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/eating-and-sleeping-are-not-like-loving-and-breathing-washing-is-not/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I write for myself and strangers. The strangers, dear Readers, are an afterthought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-the-strangers-dear-readers-are-an/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“A bag which was left and not only taken but turned away was not found. The place was shown to be very like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/a-bag-which-was-left-and-not-only-taken-but-turned-away-was-not-found/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I don't envisage collectivism. There is no such animal, it is always individualism, sometimes the rest vote and sometimes they do not, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-don-t-envisage-collectivism-there-is-no-such-animal-it-is-always/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) [Explore all 418 Gertrude Stein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) ## More Astonishing quotes > [It's astonishing what you learn and feel and see along the way. That's why a reporter's job, as you know, is such a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/it-s-astonishing-what-you-learn-and-feel-and-see-along-the-way-that-s/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A first novel of astonishing force, craft and beauty, The Headmaster's Wager conjures up a dizzyingly evocative wartime Saigon in the story of Percival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-y-k-lee-2/a-first-novel-of-astonishing-force-craft-and-beauty-the-headmaster-s/) [Janice Y. K. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-y-k-lee-2/) > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/it-s-a-great-historical-joke-that-when-the-spanish-met-the-aztecs-it/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [It was astonishing when at one point, I got the idea of how to make artifical clouds with a collaborator, we had pictures made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/it-was-astonishing-when-at-one-point-i-got-the-idea-of-how-to-make/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/although-there-may-be-nothing-new-under-the-sun-what-is-old-is-new-to/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The astonishing thing for me is that I had a career before politics and I never thought about my colour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-gyimah/the-astonishing-thing-for-me-is-that-i-had-a-career-before-politics/) [Sam Gyimah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-gyimah/) > [“There is no denying it; one must admit that there is something astonishing about Christianity. 'It is because you were born in it,' they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-is-no-denying-it-one-must-admit-that-there-is-something/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [It's Twitter's combination of simplicity and complexity that is astonishing in the same way that minimalist sculpture was inspiring and enlightening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/it-s-twitter-s-combination-of-simplicity-and-complexity-that-is/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [All that we don't know is astonishing. Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/all-that-we-don-t-know-is-astonishing-even-more-astonishing-is-what/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy which we call mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/still-more-astonishing-is-that-world-of-rigorous-fantasy-which-we/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“No one ever said aloud any of the kinds of things he was so constantly thinking, because no one in the parish, not Alice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/no-one-ever-said-aloud-any-of-the-kinds-of-things-he-was-so/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [If you worry less about what people think of you, you can pick up an astonishing amount of information about them. You no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/if-you-worry-less-about-what-people-think-of-you-you-can-pick-up-an/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [The Bureau of Justice reports that one in three black male babies born this century will go to jail or prison - that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/the-bureau-of-justice-reports-that-one-in-three-black-male-babies/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) [Browse all 410 Astonishing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "it is a surprising thing that the largest city in the world should have a population as gentle and pleasant and intimate and considerate and comforting as a little bit of a place where everybody knows everybody and everything, but astonishing or not it is perfectly true and the inhabitants of New York are just like that, and they are like that and this thing is a delightful, natural and gentle and sweet and comforting thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gertrude Stein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/it-is-a-surprising-thing-that-the-largest-city-in-the-world-should/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Astonishing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/it-is-a-surprising-thing-that-the-largest-city-in-the-world-should/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/gertrude-stein-667_astonishing_it-is-a-surprising-thing-that-the-larges_2164725.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/gertrude-stein-667_astonishing_it-is-a-surprising-thing-that-the-larges_2164725.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/gertrude-stein-667_astonishing_it-is-a-surprising-thing-that-the-larges_2164725.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“it is a surprising thing that the largest city in the world should have a population as gentle and pleasant…” — Gertrude Stein", "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": "Gertrude Stein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "it is a surprising thing that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/it-is-a-surprising-thing-that-the-largest-city-in-the-world-should/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/it-is-a-surprising-thing-that-the-largest-city-in-the-world-should/#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 } } ] } ```