--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Such gratitude! It hurt me to see you…" description: "\"“Such gratitude! It hurt me to see you lose your professional standing, McGee. Like you were going soft and sentimental. So, through my own account, I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/john-d-macdonald-8277_gratitude_such-gratitude-it-hurt-me-to-see-you-los_1969178.jpg" --- # Such gratitude! It hurt me to see you lose your… ![“Such gratitude! It hurt me to see you lose your professional standing, McGee. Like you were going soft and sentimental. So, through my own account, I put us into Fletcher and rode it up nicely and took us out, and split the bonus right down the middle. It's short-term. It's a check. Pay your…” quote by John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/john-d-macdonald-8277_gratitude_such-gratitude-it-hurt-me-to-see-you-los_1969178.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/john-d-macdonald-8277_gratitude_such-gratitude-it-hurt-me-to-see-you-los_1969178.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/john-d-macdonald-8277_gratitude_such-gratitude-it-hurt-me-to-see-you-los_1969178.jpg) > ““Such gratitude! It hurt me to see you lose your professional standing, McGee. Like you were going soft and sentimental. So, through my own account, I put us into Fletcher and rode it up nicely and took us out, and split the bonus right down the middle. It's short-term. It's a check. Pay your taxes. Live a little. It's a longer retirement this time. We can gather up a throng and go blundering around on this licentious craft and get the remorses for saying foolish things while in our cups. We had a salvage contract, idiot, and the fee is comparatively small but fair." "And you are comparatively large but fair." "I think of myself that way. Where did the check go? Into the pocket so fast? Good." he looked at his watch. "I am taking a lady to lunch. Make a nice neat deck there, Captain." And away he went, humming.”” [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A cynical narrator rationalizes a shady deal, mixing gratitude, greed, and fleeting pleasure while acknowledging moral ambiguity. **In simple terms:** He justifies a quick profit despite ethical doubts. Key Takeaway Weigh short‑term gain against long‑term conscience. Themes greed morality short‑term gain friendship risk Mood cynical reflective Type narrative dialogue When to use this quote - business negotiations - personal relationships - risk assessment Key Concepts capitalism ethical relativism self‑interest Questions to Reflect On - What are the hidden costs of quick profit? - How does gratitude mask selfish motives? A Different Perspective The deal may backfire, damaging reputation and trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) ## Related quotes > [“Did you know that 'I told you so' has a brother,Jacob?" she asked cutting me off. "His name is 'Shut the hell up'.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/did-you-know-that-i-told-you-so-has-a-brother-jacob-she-asked-cutting/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [There's only so many movies you can do. I start to get really self-loathing and sick of myself. 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We just have to be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelle-bliss/sometimes-life-doesn-t-give-us-what-we-re-looking-for-but-it-gives-us/) [Chelle Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelle-bliss/) ## More by John D. MacDonald > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [...it isn't foolish or wicked to enjoy. Wickedness is hurting people on purpose. I love what you are and who you are and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/it-isn-t-foolish-or-wicked-to-enjoy-wickedness-is-hurting-people-on/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [“Ask for two, and they give you the third free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/ask-for-two-and-they-give-you-the-third-free/) [John D. 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MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [ \[To\] me organized religion, the formalities and routines, \[is\] like being marched in formation to look at a sunset. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/to-me-organized-religion-the-formalities-and-routines-is-like-being/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Old friend, there are people—young and old—that I like, and people that I do not like. The former are always in short supply. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/old-friend-there-are-people-young-and-old-that-i-like-and-people-that/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Way over half the murders committed in this country are by close friends or relatives of the deceased. A gun makes a loud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/way-over-half-the-murders-committed-in-this-country-are-by-close/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [“Bugs would eat the wax. Chaw the old canvas. And one day there will be a mutation, and we will have new ones that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/bugs-would-eat-the-wax-chaw-the-old-canvas-and-one-day-there-will-be/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [“...her dark eyes were like twin entrances to two deep caves. Nothing lived in those caves. Maybe something had, once upon a time. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/her-dark-eyes-were-like-twin-entrances-to-two-deep-caves-nothing/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [“She went inside and watched him walk back toward sixteen,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/she-went-inside-and-watched-him-walk-back-toward-sixteen/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) [Explore all 80 John D. MacDonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) ## More Gratitude quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [“A treacherous President stood in the way; and it can be easily seen how reluctant good men might be to admit an apostasy which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/a-treacherous-president-stood-in-the-way-and-it-can-be-easily-seen/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [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/) > [I listen to heavy metal thanks to my son. When I argue with him on the kind of music he is listening to, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeenat-aman/i-listen-to-heavy-metal-thanks-to-my-son-when-i-argue-with-him-on-the/) [Zeenat Aman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeenat-aman/) > [“Thanks for teaching us to talk. Thanks for teaching us to be of the world and in the world and to make our way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-isay/thanks-for-teaching-us-to-talk-thanks-for-teaching-us-to-be-of-the/) [Dave Isay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-isay/) > [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/) > [I want to thank each and every one of you for having extinguished yourselves this session.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gib-lewis/i-want-to-thank-each-and-every-one-of-you-for-having-extinguished/) [Gib Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gib-lewis/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Be in a state of gratitude for everything that shows up in your life. Be thankful for the storms as well as the smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/be-in-a-state-of-gratitude-for-everything-that-shows-up-in-your-life/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“and man, though idiotic, and knowing not what he does, yet full of the sweet things of love and gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/and-man-though-idiotic-and-knowing-not-what-he-does-yet-full-of-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) [Browse all 9,111 Gratitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Such gratitude! 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