--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since you cannot do good to all, you are…" description: "\"“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into clos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/saint-augustine-328_circumstance_since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are_2013024.png" --- # Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special… ![“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you.” quote by Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/saint-augustine-328_circumstance_since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are_2013024.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/saint-augustine-328_circumstance_since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are_2013024.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/saint-augustine-328_circumstance_since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are_2013024.png) > ““Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you.”” [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One must prioritize helping those who are unexpectedly close to us, rather than trying to aid everyone equally. **In simple terms:** Focus help on those near you. Key Takeaway Give special care to those close to you. Themes charity prioritization relationships Mood reflective thoughtful Type moral philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - community service - personal relationships Key Concepts ethical duty proximity compassion Questions to Reflect On - Who in your life needs your focused attention? - How do you decide whom to help first? A Different Perspective Limited resources make universal aid impossible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-accidents-2065219/) [Circumstance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstance/) [Circumstance Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstance-brought-3604670/) [Closer Connection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closer-connection-2065221/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Special Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special-attention-647514/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are-to-pay-special-attention-to/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [I don't think special attention should be given to an actor or a singer or a baseball player or a soccer player more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viggo-mortensen/i-don-t-think-special-attention-should-be-given-to-an-actor-or-a/) [Viggo Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viggo-mortensen/) > [Of all presidential perks, the pardon power has a special significance. It is just the kind of authority that would attract the special attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-olson/of-all-presidential-perks-the-pardon-power-has-a-special-significance/) [Barbara Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-olson/) > [In reference to the Army and Navy, lately employed with so much distinction on active service, care shall be taken to insure the highest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-taylor/in-reference-to-the-army-and-navy-lately-employed-with-so-much/) [Zachary Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-taylor/) > [I have never wanted special attention. I was only willing to do what was asked of me and what seemed necessary at the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miep-gies/i-have-never-wanted-special-attention-i-was-only-willing-to-do-what/) [Miep Gies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miep-gies/) > [Communications requires study, preparation, and a special attention to truth, goodness and beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/communications-requires-study-preparation-and-a-special-attention-to/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [I believe in paying special attention to every project that you do and supporting the projects you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-diesel/i-believe-in-paying-special-attention-to-every-project-that-you-do/) [Vin Diesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-diesel/) > [“Don't you want to fall into bed and let me pay special attention to you all day?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-ellen-malpas/don-t-you-want-to-fall-into-bed-and-let-me-pay-special-attention-to/) [Jodi Ellen Malpas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-ellen-malpas/) > [Pay special attention to their agony so I might take some pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/pay-special-attention-to-their-agony-so-i-might-take-some-pleasure/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“Your circumstance is not your outcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-r-sneed-carter/your-circumstance-is-not-your-outcome/) [Anita R. Sneed-Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-r-sneed-carter/) > [You just try to get the best jobs that you can get. Sometimes I produce my own movies, so that's your own sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/you-just-try-to-get-the-best-jobs-that-you-can-get-sometimes-i/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [“God never tells me to get over something and just get past it. Never. Instead, He asks me to trust Him with every circumstance.10”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/god-never-tells-me-to-get-over-something-and-just-get-past-it-never/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [Man liveth from hour to hour, and knoweth not what may happen; Influences circle him on all sides, and yet must he answer for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/man-liveth-from-hour-to-hour-and-knoweth-not-what-may-happen/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The Circumstance of your life don't have to dictate the outcome of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-wilmont/the-circumstance-of-your-life-don-t-have-to-dictate-the-outcome-of/) [Teresa Wilmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-wilmont/) ## More by Saint Augustine > [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The playthings of our elders are called business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-playthings-of-our-elders-are-called-business/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Do what you can and pray for what you cannot yet do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/do-what-you-can-and-pray-for-what-you-cannot-yet-do/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [For I did not know that the soul needs to be enlightened by light from outside itself, so that it can participate in truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-i-did-not-know-that-the-soul-needs-to-be-enlightened-by-light/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [To wisdom belongs the intellectual apprehension of things eternal; to knowledge, the rational apprehension of things temporal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/to-wisdom-belongs-the-intellectual-apprehension-of-things-eternal-to/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated . . . when that infant is brought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/it-is-this-one-spirit-who-makes-it-possible-for-an-infant-to-be/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [God has no need of your money, but the poor have. You give it to the poor, and God receives it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-has-no-need-of-your-money-but-the-poor-have-you-give-it-to-the/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-conquers-except-truth-and-the-victory-of-truth-is-love/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“O God, who is ever at work and ever at rest. May I be ever at work and ever at rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/o-god-who-is-ever-at-work-and-ever-at-rest-may-i-be-ever-at-work-and/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Our Lord reserved to Himself certain things which He would do in due time in a manner outside the course and order of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/our-lord-reserved-to-himself-certain-things-which-he-would-do-in-due/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/give-me-chastity-and-continence-but-not-yet/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen. He either permits it to happen, or He brings it about Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-therefore-happens-unless-the-omnipotent-wills-it-to-happen-he/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The reward of patience Is patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-reward-of-patience-is-patience/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) [Explore all 672 Saint Augustine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## More Circumstance quotes > [The Circumstance of your life don't have to dictate the outcome of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-wilmont/the-circumstance-of-your-life-don-t-have-to-dictate-the-outcome-of/) [Teresa Wilmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-wilmont/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Man liveth from hour to hour, and knoweth not what may happen; Influences circle him on all sides, and yet must he answer for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/man-liveth-from-hour-to-hour-and-knoweth-not-what-may-happen/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [“God never tells me to get over something and just get past it. Never. Instead, He asks me to trust Him with every circumstance.10”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/god-never-tells-me-to-get-over-something-and-just-get-past-it-never/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [You just try to get the best jobs that you can get. Sometimes I produce my own movies, so that's your own sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/you-just-try-to-get-the-best-jobs-that-you-can-get-sometimes-i/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [“Your circumstance is not your outcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-r-sneed-carter/your-circumstance-is-not-your-outcome/) [Anita R. Sneed-Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-r-sneed-carter/) > [“Under any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz/under-any-circumstance-always-do-your-best-no-more-and-no-less-but/) [Miguel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz/) > [“manner, a change of circumstance happens as a result of a change in your state of consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neville/manner-a-change-of-circumstance-happens-as-a-result-of-a-change-in/) [Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neville/) > [You know, you don't need a leader to sort of administer something that's going very well. In fact, in one sense, an overly ambitious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-v-gerstner-jr/you-know-you-don-t-need-a-leader-to-sort-of-administer-something-that/) [Louis V. Gerstner, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-v-gerstner-jr/) > [“God said to accept whatever circumstances that come along. Circumstance is a natural thing. A claim of “Do this and don’t do that” should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/god-said-to-accept-whatever-circumstances-that-come-along/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides the personal relationship to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mccandless/circumstance-has-no-value-it-is-how-one-relates-to-a-situation-that/) [Christopher McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mccandless/) > [The fact is: You are not a manager of circumstance, you're the architect of your life's experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-fact-is-you-are-not-a-manager-of-circumstance-you-re-the/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“You can overcome your circumstances or you can let your circumstances overcome you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/you-can-overcome-your-circumstances-or-you-can-let-your-circumstances/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-in-the-heart-not-in-the-circumstance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’ is in the form of the eternal element (vastu swaroop) and ‘my’ is in the form of circumstances (saiyog swaroop). Circumstance form and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/i-is-in-the-form-of-the-eternal-element-vastu-swaroop-and-my-is-in/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 296 Circumstance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saint Augustine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are-to-pay-special-attention-to-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Circumstance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are-to-pay-special-attention-to-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/saint-augustine-328_circumstance_since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are_2013024.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/saint-augustine-328_circumstance_since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are_2013024.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/saint-augustine-328_circumstance_since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are_2013024.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by accidents of time, or…” — Saint Augustine", "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": "Saint Augustine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Since you cannot do good to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are-to-pay-special-attention-to-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/since-you-cannot-do-good-to-all-you-are-to-pay-special-attention-to-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 } } ] } ```