--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were people you could hug, and then…" description: "\"There were people you could hug, and then there was Silas.\" — Neil Gaiman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/neil-gaiman-29_hug_there-were-people-you-could-hug-and-then_521558.jpg" --- # There were people you could hug, and then there was Silas. ![“There were people you could hug, and then there was Silas.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/neil-gaiman-29_hug_there-were-people-you-could-hug-and-then_521558.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/neil-gaiman-29_hug_there-were-people-you-could-hug-and-then_521558.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/neil-gaiman-29_hug_there-were-people-you-could-hug-and-then_521558.jpg) > “There were people you could hug, and then there was Silas.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A contrast between ordinary affection and a uniquely intense bond with Silas. **In simple terms:** Some people are just different. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect deep differences. Themes relationships intimacy difference Mood reflective curious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - meeting new people - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology emotional depth Questions to Reflect On - How do you navigate relationships with people who feel unlike others? - What boundaries are needed? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hug/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Hug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-hug-3868678/) ## Related quotes > [With age, you get to a place where you don't want to knock people out. You just want to give people a hug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-diesel/with-age-you-get-to-a-place-where-you-don-t-want-to-knock-people-out/) [Vin Diesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-diesel/) > [Yeah, I talk to other people, I laugh with other people, and I hug other people, but none of them will ever mean as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soab/yeah-i-talk-to-other-people-i-laugh-with-other-people-and-i-hug-other-2/) [Soab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soab/) > [I love hugging people. I still hug everybody in my meet-and-greet lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-love-hugging-people-i-still-hug-everybody-in-my-meet-and-greet-lines/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Yeah, I talk to other people, I laugh with other people, and I hug other people, but none of them will ever mean as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yeah-i-talk-to-other-people-i-laugh-with-other-people-and-i-hug-other/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Oh- my twitchy witchy girl I think you are so nice, I give you bowls of porridge And I give you bowls of ice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/oh-my-twitchy-witchy-girl-i-think-you-are-so-nice-i-give-you-bowls-of/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [The stranger might laugh and seem to enjoy the writing, but you hug to yourself the thought that they didn't quite understand its force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-stranger-might-laugh-and-seem-to-enjoy-the-writing-but-you-hug-to/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Much that we hug today as knowledge is ignorance pure and simple. It makes the mind wander and even reduces it to a vacuity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/much-that-we-hug-today-as-knowledge-is-ignorance-pure-and-simple-it/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Guys are OK... shake their hand... Women are special. You can hug 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bon-scott/guys-are-ok-shake-their-hand-women-are-special-you-can-hug-em/) [Bon Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bon-scott/) > [Everybody I've ever met was destroyed by a member of the opposite sex early on and that damage you took into every relationship after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/everybody-i-ve-ever-met-was-destroyed-by-a-member-of-the-opposite-sex/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [Seeing my children makes me come most alive. I come home and I see my kids' faces light up when they see me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-patrick/seeing-my-children-makes-me-come-most-alive-i-come-home-and-i-see-my/) [Richard Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-patrick/) > [We must not forget that what I mean by the conquest of the world by spiritual thought is the sending out of the life-giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-not-forget-that-what-i-mean-by-the-conquest-of-the-world-by/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I like kisses that aren't too fast or rushed - that's what makes a good kiss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-tomlinson/i-like-kisses-that-aren-t-too-fast-or-rushed-that-s-what-makes-a-good/) [Louis Tomlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-tomlinson/) > [I see the joy in life and I see the joy in simple things. I over-compliment. I over-praise. I over-express my feelings toward people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-lansing/i-see-the-joy-in-life-and-i-see-the-joy-in-simple-things-i-over/) [Sherry Lansing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-lansing/) > [Brothers don't shake hands, brothers gotta HUG!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-farley/brothers-don-t-shake-hands-brothers-gotta-hug/) [Chris Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-farley/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Hug quotes > [I see the joy in life and I see the joy in simple things. I over-compliment. I over-praise. I over-express my feelings toward people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-lansing/i-see-the-joy-in-life-and-i-see-the-joy-in-simple-things-i-over/) [Sherry Lansing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-lansing/) > [I like kisses that aren't too fast or rushed - that's what makes a good kiss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-tomlinson/i-like-kisses-that-aren-t-too-fast-or-rushed-that-s-what-makes-a-good/) [Louis Tomlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-tomlinson/) > [We must not forget that what I mean by the conquest of the world by spiritual thought is the sending out of the life-giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-not-forget-that-what-i-mean-by-the-conquest-of-the-world-by/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Seeing my children makes me come most alive. I come home and I see my kids' faces light up when they see me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-patrick/seeing-my-children-makes-me-come-most-alive-i-come-home-and-i-see-my/) [Richard Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-patrick/) > [Much that we hug today as knowledge is ignorance pure and simple. It makes the mind wander and even reduces it to a vacuity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/much-that-we-hug-today-as-knowledge-is-ignorance-pure-and-simple-it/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The stranger might laugh and seem to enjoy the writing, but you hug to yourself the thought that they didn't quite understand its force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-stranger-might-laugh-and-seem-to-enjoy-the-writing-but-you-hug-to/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Brothers don't shake hands, brothers gotta HUG!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-farley/brothers-don-t-shake-hands-brothers-gotta-hug/) [Chris Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-farley/) > [Guys are OK... shake their hand... Women are special. You can hug 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bon-scott/guys-are-ok-shake-their-hand-women-are-special-you-can-hug-em/) [Bon Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bon-scott/) > [Everybody I've ever met was destroyed by a member of the opposite sex early on and that damage you took into every relationship after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/everybody-i-ve-ever-met-was-destroyed-by-a-member-of-the-opposite-sex/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [That's what people do who love you. They put their arms around you and love you when you're not so lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/that-s-what-people-do-who-love-you-they-put-their-arms-around-you-and/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [Eating something fresh out of the oven is like a hug you can taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/eating-something-fresh-out-of-the-oven-is-like-a-hug-you-can-taste/) [Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/) > [“I had embraced you... long before i hugged you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/i-had-embraced-you-long-before-i-hugged-you/) [Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/) > [If you hug someone for seven seconds, it gives you a chemical drop in your brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-dohrn/if-you-hug-someone-for-seven-seconds-it-gives-you-a-chemical-drop-in/) [Walt Dohrn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-dohrn/) > [“i want to stay curled and cosied and chocolated…forever in my mother’s arms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/i-want-to-stay-curled-and-cosied-and-chocolated-forever-in-my-mother/) [Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/) > [There were people I know that got upset that I kissed people; I kissed them for luck and love, that's all. That's what my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawson/there-were-people-i-know-that-got-upset-that-i-kissed-people-i-kissed/) [Richard Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawson/) [Browse all 855 Hug quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hug/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There were people you could hug, and then there was Silas.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Gaiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/there-were-people-you-could-hug-and-then-there-was-silas/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hug" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/there-were-people-you-could-hug-and-then-there-was-silas/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/neil-gaiman-29_hug_there-were-people-you-could-hug-and-then_521558.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/neil-gaiman-29_hug_there-were-people-you-could-hug-and-then_521558.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/neil-gaiman-29_hug_there-were-people-you-could-hug-and-then_521558.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There were people you could hug, and then there was Silas.” — Neil Gaiman", "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": "Neil Gaiman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There were people you could hug,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/there-were-people-you-could-hug-and-then-there-was-silas/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/there-were-people-you-could-hug-and-then-there-was-silas/#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 } } ] } ```