--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And the past held only this wisdom: that…" description: "\"And the past held only this wisdom: that love was a damaging mistake, and its accomplice, hope, a treacherous illusion. And whenever those twin poisono..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/khaled-hosseini-251_accomplices_and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that_133286.png" --- # And the past held only this wisdom: that love was a… ![“And the past held only this wisdom: that love was a damaging mistake, and its accomplice, hope, a treacherous illusion. And whenever those twin poisonous flowers began to sprout in the parched land of that field, Mariam uprooted them. She uprooted them and ditched them before they took hold.” quote by Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/khaled-hosseini-251_accomplices_and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that_133286.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/khaled-hosseini-251_accomplices_and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that_133286.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/khaled-hosseini-251_accomplices_and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that_133286.png) > “And the past held only this wisdom: that love was a damaging mistake, and its accomplice, hope, a treacherous illusion. And whenever those twin poisonous flowers began to sprout in the parched land of that field, Mariam uprooted them. She uprooted them and ditched them before they took hold.” [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love and hope are portrayed as dangerous, yet the narrator actively removes these feelings to protect herself from pain. **In simple terms:** Love and hope are seen as harmful. Key Takeaway Guard against toxic emotions. Themes relationships psychology resilience Mood melancholic defensive Type narrative emotional When to use this quote - personal growth - relationship counseling - mental health - storytelling Key Concepts emotional avoidance self‑preservation Questions to Reflect On - When is it healthy to let go of hope? - How can you balance self‑protection with openness? A Different Perspective Suppressing emotions may hinder genuine connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplices/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Hope Treacherous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-treacherous-1369740/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Damaging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-damaging-1369742/) [Mariam Uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mariam-uprooted-1522419/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Poisonous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poisonous/) [Poisonous Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poisonous-flowers-1522420/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Twins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twins/) [Uprooted Ditched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uprooted-ditched-1522421/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“that love was a damaging mistake, and its accomplice, hope, a treacherous illusion. And whenever those twin poisonous flowers began to sprout in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/that-love-was-a-damaging-mistake-and-its-accomplice-hope-a/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“And the past held only this wisdom: that love was a damaging mistake, and its accomplice, hope, a treacherous illusion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that-love-was-a-damaging-mistake/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Love was a damaging mistake and its accomplice,hope, a treacherous illusion".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/love-was-a-damaging-mistake-and-its-accomplice-hope-a-treacherous/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“There, the future did not matter. And the past held only this wisdom: that love was a damaging mistake, and its accomplice, hope, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/there-the-future-did-not-matter-and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“But Mariam hardly noticed, hardly cared...the future did not matter. And the past held only this wisdom: that Love was a damaging mistake and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/but-mariam-hardly-noticed-hardly-cared-the-future-did-not-matter-and/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“...is a pale desert of gigantic water-lilies. They sigh one unto the other in that solitude. And stretch towards the heaven their long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/is-a-pale-desert-of-gigantic-water-lilies-they-sigh-one-unto-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“We cannot withdraw love without damaging ourselves. I have been badly hurt again but I see this morning that it does not really matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/we-cannot-withdraw-love-without-damaging-ourselves-i-have-been-badly/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“Vase \[Why weep Come back tomorrow There are also poisonous flowers and flowers always open in the evening she loves the cinema she has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-apollinaire/vase-why-weep-come-back-tomorrow-there-are-also-poisonous-flowers-and/) [Guillaume Apollinaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-apollinaire/) > [Hope is treacherous, but how can you live without it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/hope-is-treacherous-but-how-can-you-live-without-it/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [Hope is the most treacherous of all human fancies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/hope-is-the-most-treacherous-of-all-human-fancies/) [James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/) > [Hope is the most treacherous thing in the world. It lifts you and lets you plummet. But as long as you're being lifted you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/hope-is-the-most-treacherous-thing-in-the-world-it-lifts-you-and-lets/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [She passed these years in a distant corner of her mind. A dry, barren field, out beyond wish and lament, beyond dream and disillusionment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/she-passed-these-years-in-a-distant-corner-of-her-mind-a-dry-barren/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Americans will not allow any Islamic regime to reach the position of governance except if it is an accomplice to the Americans, just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayman-al-zawahiri/americans-will-not-allow-any-islamic-regime-to-reach-the-position-of/) [Ayman al-Zawahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayman-al-zawahiri/) > [It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## More by Khaled Hosseini > [“Winter was every kid’s favorite season in Kabul, at least those whose fathers could afford to buy a good iron stove. The reason was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/winter-was-every-kid-s-favorite-season-in-kabul-at-least-those-whose/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Their fights didn’t so much end as dissipate, like a drop of ink in a bowl of water, with a residual taint that lingered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/their-fights-didn-t-so-much-end-as-dissipate-like-a-drop-of-ink-in-a/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“I think that everything he did, feeding the poor, giving money to friends in need, it was all a way of redeeming himself. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-think-that-everything-he-did-feeding-the-poor-giving-money-to/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“it always falls on the sober to pay for the sins of the drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/it-always-falls-on-the-sober-to-pay-for-the-sins-of-the-drunk/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Mariam knew that life for the most part had been unkind to her. But as she walked the final twenty paces, she could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/mariam-knew-that-life-for-the-most-part-had-been-unkind-to-her-but-as/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“I pray. I pray that my sins have not caught up with me the way I'd always feared they would.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-pray-i-pray-that-my-sins-have-not-caught-up-with-me-the-way-i-d/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“shoes: that putting them on a bed invited death into the family, that a quarrel would follow if one put on the left shoe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/shoes-that-putting-them-on-a-bed-invited-death-into-the-family-that-a/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [I have a theory about marriage, Monsieur Boustouler. And it's that nearly always you will know within two weeks if it's going to work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-have-a-theory-about-marriage-monsieur-boustouler-and-it-s-that/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [The short of it is, as an aspiring writer, there is nothing as damaging to your credibility as saying that you don't like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/the-short-of-it-is-as-an-aspiring-writer-there-is-nothing-as-damaging/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Throughout the last century there were multiple attempts at giving Afghan women more autonomy, to change marriage laws, to abolish the practice of bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/throughout-the-last-century-there-were-multiple-attempts-at-giving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [At that moment, she cannot think of a more reckless, irrational thing than choosing to become a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/at-that-moment-she-cannot-think-of-a-more-reckless-irrational-thing/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“He says this is war. There is no shame in war. Tell him he's wrong. War doesn't negate decency. It demands it, even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/he-says-this-is-war-there-is-no-shame-in-war-tell-him-he-s-wrong-war/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [For many people in the west, Afghanistan is synonymous with the Soviet war and the Taliban. I wanted to remind people that Afghans had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/for-many-people-in-the-west-afghanistan-is-synonymous-with-the-soviet/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Educate yourself, learn about what refugees face when they don't have homes, after they have lost everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/educate-yourself-learn-about-what-refugees-face-when-they-don-t-have/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Rahim Khan laughed. “Children aren’t coloring books. You don’t get to fill them with your favorite colors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/rahim-khan-laughed-children-aren-t-coloring-books-you-don-t-get-to/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) [Explore all 697 Khaled Hosseini quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) ## More Accomplices quotes > [It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Americans will not allow any Islamic regime to reach the position of governance except if it is an accomplice to the Americans, just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayman-al-zawahiri/americans-will-not-allow-any-islamic-regime-to-reach-the-position-of/) [Ayman al-Zawahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayman-al-zawahiri/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Insecurity is miserable. That's the bottom line. We don't need it. We don't want it. And we really can live without it. So what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/insecurity-is-miserable-that-s-the-bottom-line-we-don-t-need-it-we/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [An American professor complained that a crypto-Marxist like me was invited in the USA, and I was denounced by the press in Eastern European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/an-american-professor-complained-that-a-crypto-marxist-like-me-was/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [You're only a victim once. The next time you're an accomplice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-judd/you-re-only-a-victim-once-the-next-time-you-re-an-accomplice/) [Naomi Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-judd/) > [Then one day I realized that a false picture of the German camps had been created and that the problem of the concentration camps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rassinier/then-one-day-i-realized-that-a-false-picture-of-the-german-camps-had/) [Paul Rassinier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rassinier/) > [And what is an authentic madman? It is a man who preferred to become mad, in the socially accepted sense of the word, rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/and-what-is-an-authentic-madman-it-is-a-man-who-preferred-to-become/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [The injustice of defeat lies in the fact that its most innocent victims are made to look like heartless accomplices. It is impossible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-injustice-of-defeat-lies-in-the-fact-that-its-most-innocent/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Simply because, one hand, there are the haters, The hater has power. All we can do is oppose it, or one becomes an accomplice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/simply-because-one-hand-there-are-the-haters-the-hater-has-power-all/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I have never seen more Senators express discontent with their jobs…I think the major cause is that, deep down in our hearts, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-danforth/i-have-never-seen-more-senators-express-discontent-with-their-jobs-i/) [John C. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-danforth/) > [You give up the world line by line. Stoically. And then one day you realize that your courage is farcical. It doesn't mean anything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-give-up-the-world-line-by-line-stoically-and-then-one-day-you/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [We become accomplices in evil every time we seek to soothe the unslakable appetites of the crime family that sits in Pyongyang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/we-become-accomplices-in-evil-every-time-we-seek-to-soothe-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [When struck on one cheek to turn the other, is really joining a conspiracy to secure the triumph of brutality. To agree not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/when-struck-on-one-cheek-to-turn-the-other-is-really-joining-a/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [What is irritating about love is that it is a crime that requires an accomplice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/what-is-irritating-about-love-is-that-it-is-a-crime-that-requires-an/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) [Browse all 95 Accomplices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And the past held only this wisdom: that love was a damaging mistake, and its accomplice, hope, a treacherous illusion. And whenever those twin poisonous flowers began to sprout in the parched land of that field, Mariam uprooted them. She uprooted them and ditched them before they took hold.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Khaled Hosseini" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that-love-was-a-damaging-mistake-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accomplices" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that-love-was-a-damaging-mistake-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/khaled-hosseini-251_accomplices_and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that_133286.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/khaled-hosseini-251_accomplices_and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that_133286.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/khaled-hosseini-251_accomplices_and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that_133286.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And the past held only this wisdom: that love was a damaging mistake, and its accomplice, hope, a…” — Khaled Hosseini", "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": "Khaled Hosseini", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And the past held only this...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that-love-was-a-damaging-mistake-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/and-the-past-held-only-this-wisdom-that-love-was-a-damaging-mistake-2/#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 } } ] } ```