--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This was to me a far more terrible loss…" description: "\"“This was to me a far more terrible loss than the two that I had suffered before. For though, Lord help me, I had travelled far enough from all paths o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/rudyard-kipling-527_death_this-was-to-me-a-far-more-terrible-loss_1791338.jpg" --- # This was to me a far more terrible loss than the two that… ![“This was to me a far more terrible loss than the two that I had suffered before. For though, Lord help me, I had travelled far enough from all paths of decent or godly living, yet there was in me, though I myself write it, a certain goodness of heart which, when I was sober (or sick) made me very…” quote by Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/rudyard-kipling-527_death_this-was-to-me-a-far-more-terrible-loss_1791338.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/rudyard-kipling-527_death_this-was-to-me-a-far-more-terrible-loss_1791338.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/rudyard-kipling-527_death_this-was-to-me-a-far-more-terrible-loss_1791338.jpg) > ““This was to me a far more terrible loss than the two that I had suffered before. For though, Lord help me, I had travelled far enough from all paths of decent or godly living, yet there was in me, though I myself write it, a certain goodness of heart which, when I was sober (or sick) made me very sorry of all that I had done before the fit came on me. And this I lost wholly: having in place thereof another deadly coldness at the heart. I am not, as I have before said, ready with my pen, so I fear that what I have just written may not be readily understood.”” [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker laments losing his remaining compassion, replaced by a cold, detached heart, after a life of moral decline. **In simple terms:** He lost his last kindness, becoming emotionally cold. Key Takeaway Recognize and nurture remaining empathy before it fades. Themes loss morality compassion despair Mood sorrowful reflective Type literary personal philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - moral reflection - recovering empathy Key Concepts human nature ethical decay emotional numbness Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate a loss of compassion? - How can one rebuild empathy after moral decline? 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