---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not the least hard thing to bear when…"
description: "\"Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives.\" — John G..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/john-galsworthy-4232_animal_not-the-least-hard-thing-to-bear-when-th_1608372.png"
---

#  Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us…

![“Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives.” quote by John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/john-galsworthy-4232_animal_not-the-least-hard-thing-to-bear-when-th_1608372.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/john-galsworthy-4232_animal_not-the-least-hard-thing-to-bear-when-th_1608372.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/john-galsworthy-4232_animal_not-the-least-hard-thing-to-bear-when-th_1608372.png)

> “Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives.”

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

When friends die, they take with them the shared experiences and years that shaped our lives, leaving a profound sense of loss.

**In simple terms:** Losing friends feels like losing parts of ourselves.

Key Takeaway

Cherish and honor memories of departed friends.

Themes

grief memory friendship time loss

Mood

somber nostalgic thoughtful

Type

reflective emotional philosophical

When to use this quote

- mourning a friend
- writing a eulogy
- celebrating a life

Key Concepts

existential reflection shared history emotional impact

Questions to Reflect On

- What memories sustain you after loss?
- How can you transform grief into growth?

A Different Perspective

The quote may romanticize loss, ignoring personal resilience.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Hard things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-things/) [Pet loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pet-loss/)

## Related quotes

> [“The best gift your true friends will ever give you is carry your casket with respect. So be good to those you consider exceptional.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kodingo/the-best-gift-your-true-friends-will-ever-give-you-is-carry-your/)

Robert Kodingo

> [“For eventually, we come to hold our dearest possessions more closely than we hold our friends. We carry them from place to place, often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-eventually-we-come-to-hold-our-dearest-possessions-more-closely-2/)

[Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/)

> [In some ways I think it would be very dignified if I went away for twenty years and then wrote my fourth book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/in-some-ways-i-think-it-would-be-very-dignified-if-i-went-away-for/)

[Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/)

> [“second pass like hell when you are away ; now years pass like seconds…!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-a-samuel/second-pass-like-hell-when-you-are-away-now-years-pass-like-seconds/)

[felix a samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-a-samuel/)

> [The biggest thing I have taken away from these two years at Roma is the fact I grew as a goalkeeper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wojciech-szczesny/the-biggest-thing-i-have-taken-away-from-these-two-years-at-roma-is/)

[Wojciech Szczesny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wojciech-szczesny/)

> [Drake can do that well, he can have the hottest tune every summer for the next 20 years, and that's how he does his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kano/drake-can-do-that-well-he-can-have-the-hottest-tune-every-summer-for/)

[Kano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kano/)

> [“When I came back, they gave me blank looks. Some said, 'I don't think I've seen you for days.' Some not even that. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/me-a-selimovi/when-i-came-back-they-gave-me-blank-looks-some-said-i-don-t-think-i/)

[Meša Selimović](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/me-a-selimovi/)

> [I knew my knee was getting worse at Villa. The first season was dreadful and we went down. But speak to the Villa fans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-richards/i-knew-my-knee-was-getting-worse-at-villa-the-first-season-was/)

[Micah Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-richards/)

> [Well, these days, if you're away five years, you might not be able to get back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-turner/well-these-days-if-you-re-away-five-years-you-might-not-be-able-to/)

[Tina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-turner/)

> [“When Margaret and I look back over forty years of marriage, we always remember the eight we spent home-schooling as the best years of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renny-scott/when-margaret-and-i-look-back-over-forty-years-of-marriage-we-always/)

Renny Scott

> [It's kind of strange to be in a band for ten years, because you've just given ten years of your lives to it from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-jarman/it-s-kind-of-strange-to-be-in-a-band-for-ten-years-because-you-ve/)

[Ryan Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-jarman/)

> [How many years one lives is not important, but how one lives is!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uma-maheswar-nakka/how-many-years-one-lives-is-not-important-but-how-one-lives-is/)

Uma Maheswar Nakka

> [Dramas,emotions,tears,broken hearts ... and these are suposed to be the best years of our lives !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dramas-emotions-tears-broken-hearts-and-these-are-suposed-to-be-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I cant imagine myself with anyone else. It is always you through all these years, and I think it will always be you for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-cant-imagine-myself-with-anyone-else-it-is-always-you-through-all/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Medical science is adding years to our lives, but it is up to us to add life to our years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/medical-science-is-adding-years-to-our-lives-but-it-is-up-to-us-to/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

## More by John Galsworthy

> [“She stood and tried hard not to believe in God. It seemed mean and petty to have more belief in God when things were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/she-stood-and-tried-hard-not-to-believe-in-god-it-seemed-mean-and/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [“Love is no hot-house flower, but a wild plant, born of a wet night, born of an hour of sunshine; sprung from wild seed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/love-is-no-hot-house-flower-but-a-wild-plant-born-of-a-wet-night-born/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [ “Justice is a machine that, when someone has once given it the starting push, rolls on of itself. - John Galsworthy, Justice \[1910\], act II” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/justice-is-a-machine-that-when-someone-has-once-given-it-the-starting/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [By the cigars they smoke, and the composers they love, ye shall know the texture of men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/by-the-cigars-they-smoke-and-the-composers-they-love-ye-shall-know/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [Memory heaps dead leaves on corpse-like deeds, from under which they do but vaguely offend the sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/memory-heaps-dead-leaves-on-corpse-like-deeds-from-under-which-they/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [“That tendency...to lie awake between the hours of two and four, when the chrysalis of faint misgiving becomes so readily the butterfly of panic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/that-tendency-to-lie-awake-between-the-hours-of-two-and-four-when-the/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [“Here’s a sentence in a book I’m reading: ‘We belong, of course, to a generation that’s seen through things, seen how futile everything is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/here-s-a-sentence-in-a-book-i-m-reading-we-belong-of-course-to-a/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [“James and the other eight children of 'Superior Dosset,' of whom there are still five alive, may be said to have represented Victorian England,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/james-and-the-other-eight-children-of-superior-dosset-of-whom-there/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [Justice is a machine that, when some one has once given it the starting push, rolls on of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/justice-is-a-machine-that-when-some-one-has-once-given-it-the/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [Love! Beyond measure — beyond death — it nearly kills. But one wouldn't have been without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/love-beyond-measure-beyond-death-it-nearly-kills-but-one-wouldn-t/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [Society is built on marriage ... marriage and its consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/society-is-built-on-marriage-marriage-and-its-consequences/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [We are all familiar with the argument: Make war dreadful enough, and there will be no war. And we none of us believe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/we-are-all-familiar-with-the-argument-make-war-dreadful-enough-and/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [When Man evolved Pity, he did a queer thing - deprived himself of the power of living life as it is without wishing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/when-man-evolved-pity-he-did-a-queer-thing-deprived-himself-of-the/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [Public opinion's always in advance of the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/public-opinion-s-always-in-advance-of-the-law/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [“An epoch which had gilded individual liberty so that if a man had money he was free in law and fact, and if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/an-epoch-which-had-gilded-individual-liberty-so-that-if-a-man-had/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

[Explore all 113 John Galsworthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

## More Animal quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/)

Mak\_786

> [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/)

[Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/)

> [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/)

[Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/)

> [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/)

[Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/)

> [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/)

[Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/)

[Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Galsworthy"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/not-the-least-hard-thing-to-bear-when-they-go-from-us-these-quiet/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Animal"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/not-the-least-hard-thing-to-bear-when-they-go-from-us-these-quiet/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/john-galsworthy-4232_animal_not-the-least-hard-thing-to-bear-when-th_1608372.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/john-galsworthy-4232_animal_not-the-least-hard-thing-to-bear-when-th_1608372.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/john-galsworthy-4232_animal_not-the-least-hard-thing-to-bear-when-th_1608372.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with…” — John Galsworthy",
                "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": "John Galsworthy",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Not the least hard thing to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/not-the-least-hard-thing-to-bear-when-they-go-from-us-these-quiet/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/not-the-least-hard-thing-to-bear-when-they-go-from-us-these-quiet/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
