--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When once misfortune enters a house…" description: "\"“When once misfortune enters a house, silence is in vain.”\" — Maurice Maeterlinck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_misfortune_when-once-misfortune-enters-a-house-sile_1426989.jpg" --- # When once misfortune enters a house, silence is in vain. ![“When once misfortune enters a house, silence is in vain.” quote by Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_misfortune_when-once-misfortune-enters-a-house-sile_1426989.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_misfortune_when-once-misfortune-enters-a-house-sile_1426989.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_misfortune_when-once-misfortune-enters-a-house-sile_1426989.jpg) > ““When once misfortune enters a house, silence is in vain.”” [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. Misfortune in a home cannot be ignored; silence does not prevent its effects. **In simple terms:** Problems must be addressed, not ignored. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and confront trouble early. Themes misfortune silence inevitability Mood anxious serious Type cautionary realistic When to use this quote - home crises - health emergencies - financial setbacks Key Concepts existentialism communication family dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when trouble arises at home? - What role does open communication play in crises? A Different Perspective Silence may worsen a problem rather than soothe it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [House Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-silence-1048406/) [Misfortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortune/) [Misfortune Enters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortune-enters-5069490/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Silence Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence-vain-5069489/) ## Related quotes > [“There’s no neutrality in a burning house. Silence may feel safe, but it still smells of smoke.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-nault/there-s-no-neutrality-in-a-burning-house-silence-may-feel-safe-but-it/) [Lawrence Nault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-nault/) > [“Her voice had been the only sound in the room for ten minutes or more, and it had been continuous. She seemed keenly aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/her-voice-had-been-the-only-sound-in-the-room-for-ten-minutes-or-more/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [The "I" in me, my friend, dwells in the house of silence, and therein it shall remain for ever more, unperceived, unapproachable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-i-in-me-my-friend-dwells-in-the-house-of-silence-and-therein-it/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“Everything makes love with silence. They promised me a silence like fire, a house of silence. Suddenly the temple is a circus the light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandra-pizarnik/everything-makes-love-with-silence-they-promised-me-a-silence-like/) [Alejandra Pizarnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandra-pizarnik/) > [“If you can be quiet, you’re more than welcome to stay in my House of Silence. Bring your own bubblegum ice cream. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-you-can-be-quiet-you-re-more-than-welcome-to-stay-in-my-house-of/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Tom thought back to the imposing, empty house: to the silence that deadened every room with a subtly different pitch; to the kitchen smelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/tom-thought-back-to-the-imposing-empty-house-to-the-silence-that/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [It is a misfortune that necessity has induced men to accord greater license to this formidable engine, in order to obtain liberty, than can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/it-is-a-misfortune-that-necessity-has-induced-men-to-accord-greater/) [James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/) > [\[It is hard to know what is good luck and what isn't and therefore whether we should be happy or sad about it. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelig-pliskin/it-is-hard-to-know-what-is-good-luck-and-what-isn-t-and-therefore/) [Zelig Pliskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelig-pliskin/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“Modern man’s misfortune lies not in having to live a mediocre life, but in believing that he could live one that is not mediocre.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/modern-man-s-misfortune-lies-not-in-having-to-live-a-mediocre-life/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [When the sun is shining, think of the time it won't be, because even when you're sitting in your house with the doors shut,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/when-the-sun-is-shining-think-of-the-time-it-won-t-be-because-even/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [Being single was never my misfortune. It's my choice and my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jomari-consuelo/being-single-was-never-my-misfortune-it-s-my-choice-and-my-decision/) [Jomari Consuelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jomari-consuelo/) > [Misfortune is the test of a person's merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/misfortune-is-the-test-of-a-person-s-merit/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Many things would be changed for Americans if they would only admit that there is ill-luck in this world and that misfortune is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/many-things-would-be-changed-for-americans-if-they-would-only-admit/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [If we cannot meet our everyday surroundings with equanimity and pleasure and grow each day in some useful direction, then... life is on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/if-we-cannot-meet-our-everyday-surroundings-with-equanimity-and/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) ## 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 Misfortune quotes > [If we cannot meet our everyday surroundings with equanimity and pleasure and grow each day in some useful direction, then... life is on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/if-we-cannot-meet-our-everyday-surroundings-with-equanimity-and/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Many things would be changed for Americans if they would only admit that there is ill-luck in this world and that misfortune is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/many-things-would-be-changed-for-americans-if-they-would-only-admit/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Misfortune is the test of a person's merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/misfortune-is-the-test-of-a-person-s-merit/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Being single was never my misfortune. It's my choice and my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jomari-consuelo/being-single-was-never-my-misfortune-it-s-my-choice-and-my-decision/) [Jomari Consuelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jomari-consuelo/) > [When the sun is shining, think of the time it won't be, because even when you're sitting in your house with the doors shut,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/when-the-sun-is-shining-think-of-the-time-it-won-t-be-because-even/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [“Modern man’s misfortune lies not in having to live a mediocre life, but in believing that he could live one that is not mediocre.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/modern-man-s-misfortune-lies-not-in-having-to-live-a-mediocre-life/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [\[It is hard to know what is good luck and what isn't and therefore whether we should be happy or sad about it. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelig-pliskin/it-is-hard-to-know-what-is-good-luck-and-what-isn-t-and-therefore/) [Zelig Pliskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelig-pliskin/) > [It is a misfortune that necessity has induced men to accord greater license to this formidable engine, in order to obtain liberty, than can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/it-is-a-misfortune-that-necessity-has-induced-men-to-accord-greater/) [James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/) > [All men can bear a familiar, definite misfortune better than the cruel alternations of a fate which, from one moment to another, brings excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-men-can-bear-a-familiar-definite-misfortune-better-than-the-cruel/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“When the tide of misfortune moves over you, even jelly will break your teeth     —Persian Proverb”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-fallon/when-the-tide-of-misfortune-moves-over-you-even-jelly-will-break-your/) [Jennifer Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-fallon/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The swathe of misfortune is a twisted repellent cloth, one we turn our nose at, as we mutter, no thanks. But is hardship ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gail-burns/the-swathe-of-misfortune-is-a-twisted-repellent-cloth-one-we-turn-our/) [Nancy-Gail Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gail-burns/) > [... when something is detestable, and yet inevitable, what one must do is not merely to endure it-a hard task whatever one may do-but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-de-montherlant/when-something-is-detestable-and-yet-inevitable-what-one-must-do-is/) [Henry de Montherlant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-de-montherlant/) > [“…young people without arms and legs. They’re the ones who had the fortune or perhaps the misfortune to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zlata-filipovi/young-people-without-arms-and-legs-they-re-the-ones-who-had-the/) [Zlata Filipović](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zlata-filipovi/) [Browse all 508 Misfortune quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortune/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When once misfortune enters a house, silence is in vain.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maurice Maeterlinck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/when-once-misfortune-enters-a-house-silence-is-in-vain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Misfortune" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/when-once-misfortune-enters-a-house-silence-is-in-vain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_misfortune_when-once-misfortune-enters-a-house-sile_1426989.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_misfortune_when-once-misfortune-enters-a-house-sile_1426989.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_misfortune_when-once-misfortune-enters-a-house-sile_1426989.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When once misfortune enters a house, silence is in vain.” — Maurice Maeterlinck", "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": "Maurice Maeterlinck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When once misfortune enters a house,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/when-once-misfortune-enters-a-house-silence-is-in-vain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/when-once-misfortune-enters-a-house-silence-is-in-vain/#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 } } ] } ```