--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He is wise who at last sees in suffering…" description: "\"“He is wise who at last sees in suffering only the light that it sheds on his soul; and whose eyes never rest on the shadow it casts upon those who hav..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7f/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_joy_he-is-wise-who-at-last-sees-in-suffering_2677056.jpg" --- # He is wise who at last sees in suffering only the light… ![“He is wise who at last sees in suffering only the light that it sheds on his soul; and whose eyes never rest on the shadow it casts upon those who have sent it towards him. And wiser still is the man to whom sorrow and joy not only bring increase of consciousness, but also the knowledge that…” quote by Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7f/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_joy_he-is-wise-who-at-last-sees-in-suffering_2677056.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7f/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_joy_he-is-wise-who-at-last-sees-in-suffering_2677056.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7f/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_joy_he-is-wise-who-at-last-sees-in-suffering_2677056.jpg) > ““He is wise who at last sees in suffering only the light that it sheds on his soul; and whose eyes never rest on the shadow it casts upon those who have sent it towards him. And wiser still is the man to whom sorrow and joy not only bring increase of consciousness, but also the knowledge that something exists superior to consciousness even. To have reached this point is to reach the summit of inward life, whence at last we look down on the flames whose light has helped our ascent.”” [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suffering reveals inner light; embracing both sorrow and joy expands consciousness and reveals a higher reality beyond the self. **In simple terms:** Pain shows inner growth. Key Takeaway Embrace all emotions. Themes suffering growth consciousness higher reality inner light Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - grief counseling - mindfulness practice Key Concepts spirituality philosophy self-transcendence Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn pain into insight? - What higher purpose guides you? A Different Perspective Suffering may overwhelm without support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Suffering Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-light-1636462/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wise Sees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-sees-2550238/) [Wiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wiser/) [Wiser Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wiser-man-932497/) ## Related quotes > [The wise sees knowledge and action as one; they see truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-wise-sees-knowledge-and-action-as-one-they-see-truly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A sadder but wiser man is a thousand times more agreeable to meet than the feller that never makes a mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/a-sadder-but-wiser-man-is-a-thousand-times-more-agreeable-to-meet/) [Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/) > [The wiser a man is, the less talkative will he be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-ibn-abi-talib/the-wiser-a-man-is-the-less-talkative-will-he-be/) [Ali ibn Abi Talib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-ibn-abi-talib/) > [Every day I add to the list of things I refuse to discuss. The wiser the man, the longer the list.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/every-day-i-add-to-the-list-of-things-i-refuse-to-discuss-the-wiser/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [The wiser a man becomes, the more he will read, and those who are wisest read most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/the-wiser-a-man-becomes-the-more-he-will-read-and-those-who-are/) [Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/) > [As an older and wiser man, I don't believe in luck. I believe in hard work and talent and determination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dexter-fletcher/as-an-older-and-wiser-man-i-don-t-believe-in-luck-i-believe-in-hard/) [Dexter Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dexter-fletcher/) > [I am not the same man I was 35 years ago. And I hope that five years and ten years from now, I'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/i-am-not-the-same-man-i-was-35-years-ago-and-i-hope-that-five-years/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [I hope that five years and ten years from now, I'll be a better man, a more mature man, a wiser man, a more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/i-hope-that-five-years-and-ten-years-from-now-i-ll-be-a-better-man-a/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [“There is suffering in the light; in excess it burns. Flame is hostile to the wing. To burn and yet to fly, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-suffering-in-the-light-in-excess-it-burns-flame-is-hostile/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“I imagine the dead waking, dazed, into a shadowless light in which they know themselves altogether for the first time. It is a light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-imagine-the-dead-waking-dazed-into-a-shadowless-light-in-which-they/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [According to the doctors, I'm only suffering from a light form of premature baldness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/according-to-the-doctors-i-m-only-suffering-from-a-light-form-of/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [“Beyond the veil of suffering is a light that shines bright in every one of us. One does not need glasses to see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-f-glassman/beyond-the-veil-of-suffering-is-a-light-that-shines-bright-in-every/) [Charles F. Glassman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-f-glassman/) > [“And these men, for whom life has no repose, live at times in their rare moments of happiness with such strength and indescribable beauty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-these-men-for-whom-life-has-no-repose-live-at-times-in-their-rare/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The true division of humanity is this: the luminous and the dark. To diminish the number of the dark, to increase the number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-true-division-of-humanity-is-this-the-luminous-and-the-dark-to/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The fires of suffering become the light of consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-fires-of-suffering-become-the-light-of-consciousness/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## More by Maurice Maeterlinck > [Happiness is rarely absent; it is we that know not of its presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/happiness-is-rarely-absent-it-is-we-that-know-not-of-its-presence/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [He who sees without loving is only straining his eyes in the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/he-who-sees-without-loving-is-only-straining-his-eyes-in-the-darkness/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [We are never the same with others as when we are alone. We are different, even when we are in the dark with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/we-are-never-the-same-with-others-as-when-we-are-alone-we-are/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [The living are just the dead on holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/the-living-are-just-the-dead-on-holiday/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“I believe that poems die the moment they are outwardly expressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/i-believe-that-poems-die-the-moment-they-are-outwardly-expressed/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Should we not invariably act in this life as though the God whom our heart desires with its highest desire were watching our every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/should-we-not-invariably-act-in-this-life-as-though-the-god-whom-our/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/at-every-crossway-on-the-road-that-leads-to-the-future-each/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Our lives must be spent seeking our God, for God hides; but His artifices, once they be known, seem so simple and smiling! From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/our-lives-must-be-spent-seeking-our-god-for-god-hides-but-his/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“The angels that dry our eyes bear the form and the features of all we have said and thought—above all, of what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/the-angels-that-dry-our-eyes-bear-the-form-and-the-features-of-all-we/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [What man is there that does not laboriously, though all unconsciously, himself fashion the sorrow that is to be the pivot of his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/what-man-is-there-that-does-not-laboriously-though-all-unconsciously/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“For it is our most secret desire that governs and dominates all. If your eyes look for nothing but evil, you will always see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/for-it-is-our-most-secret-desire-that-governs-and-dominates-all-if/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [It is not from reason that justice springs, but goodness is born of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/it-is-not-from-reason-that-justice-springs-but-goodness-is-born-of/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [To disdain today is to prove that yesterday has been misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yesterday-has-been-misunderstood/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future, tradition has placed 10,000 men to guard the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/at-every-crossroads-on-the-path-that-leads-to-the-future-tradition/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Niemand is waarlijk mijn vriend, voordat we geleerd hebben in elkanders tegenwoordigheid te zwijgen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/niemand-is-waarlijk-mijn-vriend-voordat-we-geleerd-hebben-in/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) [Explore all 114 Maurice Maeterlinck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) ## More Joy quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“When you finally realize your gifts and talents, joy and satisfaction come as you walk in your purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanya-richards-ross/when-you-finally-realize-your-gifts-and-talents-joy-and-satisfaction/) [Sanya Richards-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanya-richards-ross/) > [When I first started, my message was about joy, but I didn't really have the vocabulary and life experience to fully deliver it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/when-i-first-started-my-message-was-about-joy-but-i-didn-t-really/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. 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It is a joy to watch them play; it is tennis of a very high quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-krajicek/safin-in-his-way-is-very-talented-it-is-a-joy-to-watch-them-play-it/) [Richard Krajicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-krajicek/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [“Start the daily practice of joyful living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/start-the-daily-practice-of-joyful-living/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have touched with a sense of art some people-they felt the love and the life. Can you offer me anything to compare to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cassatt/i-have-touched-with-a-sense-of-art-some-people-they-felt-the-love-and/) [Mary Cassatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cassatt/) > [“Reverend Veronica Goines sums this up as, “Peace is joy at rest, and joy is peace on its feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/reverend-veronica-goines-sums-this-up-as-peace-is-joy-at-rest-and-joy/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [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/) > [Spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. Joy is of the essence of life;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnivesh/spiritually-life-is-a-festival-a-celebration-joy-is-of-the-essence-of/) [Agnivesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnivesh/) [Browse all 15,003 Joy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He is wise who at last sees in suffering only the light that it sheds on his soul; and whose eyes never rest on the shadow it casts upon those who have sent it towards him. And wiser still is the man to whom sorrow and joy not only bring increase of consciousness, but also the knowledge that something exists superior to consciousness even. 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