--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In all life one should comfort the…" description: "\"In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, contented..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_comfort_in-all-life-one-should-comfort-the-affli_580049.png" --- # In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily… ![“In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, contentedly, even happily wrong.” quote by John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_comfort_in-all-life-one-should-comfort-the-affli_580049.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_comfort_in-all-life-one-should-comfort-the-affli_580049.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_comfort_in-all-life-one-should-comfort-the-affli_580049.png) > “In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, contentedly, even happily wrong.” [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It urges helping those who suffer while challenging those who are complacent in their privilege, especially when they are blissfully unaware of their errors. **In simple terms:** Help the suffering, question the complacent. Key Takeaway Support the vulnerable, confront comfortable complacency. Themes compassion justice social critique humility power dynamics Mood thoughtful critical empathetic Type ethical philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - activism - community service - policy advocacy - education reform Key Concepts ethical responsibility social inequality moral courage Questions to Reflect On - How can we aid the afflicted without alienating the comfortable? - What strategies can expose comfortable complacency constructively? A Different Perspective It may overlook the complexity of changing entrenched beliefs and the risk of alienating potential allies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Stories are meant to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finley-peter-dunne/stories-are-meant-to-comfort-the-afflicted-and-afflict-the-comfortable/) [Finley Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finley-peter-dunne/) > [The most human thing we can do is comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/the-most-human-thing-we-can-do-is-comfort-the-afflicted-and-afflict/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [For me, what's the old expression, 'Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,' that's really what religion is good at when it is done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/for-me-what-s-the-old-expression-comfort-the-afflicted-and-afflict/) [Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/) > [“I come to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/i-come-to-comfort-the-afflicted-and-to-afflict-the-comfortable/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [“The business of a newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable" was one of the aphorisms his boss liked to quote.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/the-business-of-a-newspaper-is-to-comfort-the-afflicted-and-afflict/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [I've always liked this idea that writing should comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable to create trouble. The value of a work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-ve-always-liked-this-idea-that-writing-should-comfort-the-afflicted/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [“The Gospel is meant to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/the-gospel-is-meant-to-comfort-the-afflicted-and-afflict-the/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finley-peter-dunne/comfort-the-afflicted-and-afflict-the-comfortable/) [Finley Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finley-peter-dunne/) > [A good ad should be like a good sermon: It must not only comfort the afflicted, it also must afflict the comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-fitz-gibbon/a-good-ad-should-be-like-a-good-sermon-it-must-not-only-comfort-the/) [Bernice Fitz-Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-fitz-gibbon/) > [You can't comfort the afflicted with afflicting the comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-diana/you-can-t-comfort-the-afflicted-with-afflicting-the-comfortable/) [Princess Diana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-diana/) > [“You can’t comfort the afflicted,” the note read, “without afflicting the comfortable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-andersen/you-can-t-comfort-the-afflicted-the-note-read-without-afflicting-the/) [Christopher Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-andersen/) > [The Bible says that in the last days, there will be people in our churches who are not true believers, among other things. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-laurie/the-bible-says-that-in-the-last-days-there-will-be-people-in-our/) [Greg Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-laurie/) > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) ## More by John Kenneth Galbraith > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [“Men can labor to make sense out of single steps toward the goal without ever pausing to reflect that the goal itself is ludicrous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/men-can-labor-to-make-sense-out-of-single-steps-toward-the-goal/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Consumer wants can have bizarre, frivolous, or even immoral origins, and an admirable case can still be made for a society that seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/consumer-wants-can-have-bizarre-frivolous-or-even-immoral-origins-and/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [That one never need to look beyond the love of money for explanation of human behavior is one of the most jealously guarded simplification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/that-one-never-need-to-look-beyond-the-love-of-money-for-explanation/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [If we were not in Vietnam, all that part of the world would be enjoying the obscurity it so richly deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/if-we-were-not-in-vietnam-all-that-part-of-the-world-would-be/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Washington is a place where men praise courage and act on elaborate personal cost-benefit calculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/washington-is-a-place-where-men-praise-courage-and-act-on-elaborate/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [World War II revealed two of the enduring features of the Keynesian Revolution. One was the moral difference between spending for welfare and spending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/world-war-ii-revealed-two-of-the-enduring-features-of-the-keynesian/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Money is what fueled the industrial society. But in the informational society, the fuel, the power, is knowledge. One has now come to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/money-is-what-fueled-the-industrial-society-but-in-the-informational/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [While it will be desirable to achieve planned results, it will be even more important to avoid unplanned disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/while-it-will-be-desirable-to-achieve-planned-results-it-will-be-even/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [A bad book is the worse that it cannot repent. It has not been the devil's policy to keep the masses of mankind in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/a-bad-book-is-the-worse-that-it-cannot-repent-it-has-not-been-the/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Genius is a rising stock market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/genius-is-a-rising-stock-market/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Mr. David Stockman has said that supply-side economics was merely a cover for the trickle-down approach to economic policy—what an older and less elegant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/mr-david-stockman-has-said-that-supply-side-economics-was-merely-a/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Inventions that are not made, like babies that are not born, are rarely missed. In the absence of new developments, old ones may seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/inventions-that-are-not-made-like-babies-that-are-not-born-are-rarely/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) [Explore all 434 John Kenneth Galbraith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) ## More Comfort quotes > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Comfort food is really anything you want at that time. That said, I really love Naple-style pizza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/comfort-food-is-really-anything-you-want-at-that-time-that-said-i/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Maybe that was why she couldn't cry, she realized, staring dry-eyed at the ceiling. Because what was the point in crying when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/maybe-that-was-why-she-couldn-t-cry-she-realized-staring-dry-eyed-at/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I think that comfort is underrated in a lot of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/i-think-that-comfort-is-underrated-in-a-lot-of-ways/) [Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/) [Browse all 4,542 Comfort quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, contentedly, even happily wrong.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Kenneth Galbraith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/in-all-life-one-should-comfort-the-afflicted-but-verily-also-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Comfort" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/in-all-life-one-should-comfort-the-afflicted-but-verily-also-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_comfort_in-all-life-one-should-comfort-the-affli_580049.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_comfort_in-all-life-one-should-comfort-the-affli_580049.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_comfort_in-all-life-one-should-comfort-the-affli_580049.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and…” — John Kenneth Galbraith", "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 Kenneth Galbraith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In all life one should comfort...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/in-all-life-one-should-comfort-the-afflicted-but-verily-also-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/in-all-life-one-should-comfort-the-afflicted-but-verily-also-one/#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 } } ] } ```