--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That was the difference, he had always…" description: "\"“That was the difference, he had always known, between his faith and theirs, the political leaders of the people who cared only for things like the sta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/graham-greene-441_faith_that-was-the-difference-he-had-always-kn_2481014.jpg" --- # That was the difference, he had always known, between his… ![“That was the difference, he had always known, between his faith and theirs, the political leaders of the people who cared only for things like the state, the republic: this child was more important than a whole continent.” quote by Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/graham-greene-441_faith_that-was-the-difference-he-had-always-kn_2481014.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/graham-greene-441_faith_that-was-the-difference-he-had-always-kn_2481014.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/graham-greene-441_faith_that-was-the-difference-he-had-always-kn_2481014.jpg) > ““That was the difference, he had always known, between his faith and theirs, the political leaders of the people who cared only for things like the state, the republic: this child was more important than a whole continent.”” [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child’s life is valued above the ambitions of political powers, highlighting personal humanity over abstract ideologies. **In simple terms:** A child matters more than a continent. Key Takeaway Prioritize individual lives over grand political goals. Themes humanity politics values Mood reflective somber Type ethical political When to use this quote - political decisionmaking - humanitarian aid - education policy - family care Key Concepts ethical priority individual vs collective moral choice Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders balance state goals with personal welfare? - What does it mean to value a single life over many? A Different Perspective Political systems often ignore individual suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-important-863505/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Important Continent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-continent-863507/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [People Cared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-cared-249078/) [Political Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-leader/) [Political leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-leaders/) [Republic Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republic-child-863504/) [State Republic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-republic-863506/) ## Related quotes > [There are a lot of BeBe Zahara Benets in Africa. It's important that our continent can move forward, and respect diversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-zahara-benet/there-are-a-lot-of-bebe-zahara-benets-in-africa-it-s-important-that/) [BeBe Zahara Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-zahara-benet/) > [I believe a child's most important job is to explore the world around them through play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-martin/i-believe-a-child-s-most-important-job-is-to-explore-the-world-around/) [Kellie Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-martin/) > [As a child, the most important people in my life were my pet rabbit and Mary, mother of Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-scully/as-a-child-the-most-important-people-in-my-life-were-my-pet-rabbit/) [Sean Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-scully/) > [“When I was a kid there was a TV interstitial during Saturday morning cartoons with a song that went like this: "The most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/when-i-was-a-kid-there-was-a-tv-interstitial-during-saturday-morning/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [When you're a child, the most important thing is to be able to live a life of comfort. You want to be sure that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keegan-michael-key/when-you-re-a-child-the-most-important-thing-is-to-be-able-to-live-a/) [Keegan-Michael Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keegan-michael-key/) > [I am always who I am, and anyone who's known me forever will tell you that. I guess there's enough of a child in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-heinz/i-am-always-who-i-am-and-anyone-who-s-known-me-forever-will-tell-you/) [Teresa Heinz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-heinz/) > [Home is a child's first and most important classroom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-a-child-s-first-and-most-important-classroom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The point is to develop the childlike inclination for play and the childlike desire for recognition and to guide the child over to important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-point-is-to-develop-the-childlike-inclination-for-play-and-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Spending time with your child is more important than spending money on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/spending-time-with-your-child-is-more-important-than-spending-money/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If your child is more important than your vision of your child, life becomes easier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-dodd/if-your-child-is-more-important-than-your-vision-of-your-child-life/) [Sandra Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-dodd/) > [“This child is the most important thing in my world – in our world – and I’m going to make his life the happiest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-mercer/this-child-is-the-most-important-thing-in-my-world-in-our-world-and-i/) [Leah Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-mercer/) > [A sense of worthiness is a child's most important need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-berrien-berends/a-sense-of-worthiness-is-a-child-s-most-important-need/) [Polly Berrien Berends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-berrien-berends/) > [There is nothing more precious to a parent than a child, and nothing more important to our future than the safety of all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/there-is-nothing-more-precious-to-a-parent-than-a-child-and-nothing/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [The only moral lesson which is suited for a child--the most important lesson for every time of life--is this: 'Never hurt anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-moral-lesson-which-is-suited-for-a-child-the-most-important/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [These are the influences that everybody has. Some individuals might stand out because of one thing or another, but whether one's perception as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hume/these-are-the-influences-that-everybody-has-some-individuals-might/) [John Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hume/) ## More by Graham Greene > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Knowledge was the great thing--not abstract knowledge in which Dr. Forester had been so rich, the theories which lead one enticingly on with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/knowledge-was-the-great-thing-not-abstract-knowledge-in-which-dr/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [With Your great schemes, You ruin our happiness like a harvester ruins a mouse's nest: I hate You, God, I hate You as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/with-your-great-schemes-you-ruin-our-happiness-like-a-harvester-ruins/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/heresy-is-only-another-word-for-freedom-of-thought/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“He had thought that home was something one possessed, but the things one had possessed were cursed with change; it was what one didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-had-thought-that-home-was-something-one-possessed-but-the-things/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Perhaps the comparison is closer to the Chinese cook who leaves hardly any part of a duck unserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/perhaps-the-comparison-is-closer-to-the-chinese-cook-who-leaves/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“He said, ‘Oh god, help her. Damn me, I deserve it, but let her live forever.’ This was the love he should have felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-said-oh-god-help-her-damn-me-i-deserve-it-but-let-her-live-forever/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“A police photograph is like a passport photograph: the intelligence which casts a veil over the crude common shape is never recorded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-police-photograph-is-like-a-passport-photograph-the-intelligence/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/success-is-more-dangerous-than-failure-the-ripples-break-over-a-wider/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“But we do not love people for what they do for us. Love happens to us; it isn't created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/but-we-do-not-love-people-for-what-they-do-for-us-love-happens-to-us/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) [Explore all 550 Graham Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## More Faith quotes > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Keep the faith, and keep going strong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/keep-the-faith-and-keep-going-strong/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Holiness sincerity, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/holiness-sincerity-and-faith/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“The only limitations for your life are the limiting beliefs in your mind. —Matt Morris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-morris-1/the-only-limitations-for-your-life-are-the-limiting-beliefs-in-your/) [Matt Morris (1](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-morris-1/) > [“Just because your faith is shaken doesn’t mean the faith is shaken. The eternal truths of the Kingdom aren’t altered or affected by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/just-because-your-faith-is-shaken-doesn-t-mean-the-faith-is-shaken/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [Grit, determination, the right amount of crazy, self belief - everything it takes to be a champion. I have that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-poirier/grit-determination-the-right-amount-of-crazy-self-belief-everything/) [Dustin Poirier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-poirier/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) [Browse all 37,796 Faith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That was the difference, he had always known, between his faith and theirs, the political leaders of the people who cared only for things like the state, the republic: this child was more important than a whole continent.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Graham Greene" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/that-was-the-difference-he-had-always-known-between-his-faith-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Faith" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/that-was-the-difference-he-had-always-known-between-his-faith-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/graham-greene-441_faith_that-was-the-difference-he-had-always-kn_2481014.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/graham-greene-441_faith_that-was-the-difference-he-had-always-kn_2481014.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/graham-greene-441_faith_that-was-the-difference-he-had-always-kn_2481014.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That was the difference, he had always known, between his faith and theirs, the political leaders of the…” — Graham Greene", "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": "Graham Greene", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“That was the difference, he had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/that-was-the-difference-he-had-always-known-between-his-faith-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/that-was-the-difference-he-had-always-known-between-his-faith-and/#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 } } ] } ```