--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But we know that we are no longer the…" description: "\"“But we know that we are no longer the same, and not only know that we are no longer the same, but know in what we are no longer the same, you wiser bu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/samuel-beckett-365_grief_but-we-know-that-we-are-no-longer-the-sa_1559608.png" --- # But we know that we are no longer the same, and not only… ![“But we know that we are no longer the same, and not only know that we are no longer the same, but know in what we are no longer the same, you wiser but not sadder, and I sadder but not wiser, for wiser I could hardly become without grave personal inconvenience, whereas sorrow is a thing you can…” quote by Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/samuel-beckett-365_grief_but-we-know-that-we-are-no-longer-the-sa_1559608.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/samuel-beckett-365_grief_but-we-know-that-we-are-no-longer-the-sa_1559608.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/samuel-beckett-365_grief_but-we-know-that-we-are-no-longer-the-sa_1559608.png) > ““But we know that we are no longer the same, and not only know that we are no longer the same, but know in what we are no longer the same, you wiser but not sadder, and I sadder but not wiser, for wiser I could hardly become without grave personal inconvenience, whereas sorrow is a thing you can keep on adding to all your life long, is it not, like a stamp or egg collection”” [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on paradoxical self‑knowledge, gaining wisdom without happiness, and accumulating sorrow over time. **In simple terms:** We learn but stay unhappy, and sorrow piles up. Key Takeaway Accept that growth can bring pain and manage sorrow. Themes wisdom sadness self‑knowledge paradox growth Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical literary existential When to use this quote - personal reflection - therapy - creative writing - philosophical discussions Key Concepts existentialism human condition psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance gaining insight with maintaining emotional well‑being? - Can sorrow be transformed into something constructive? A Different Perspective Wisdom without joy may feel burdensome, and sorrow can become a habit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Inconvenience Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inconvenience-sorrow-4070012/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-long/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Sadder Wiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadder-wiser-4070011/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Sorrow Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow-thing-977835/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wiser Sadder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wiser-sadder-4070010/) ## Related quotes > [“We are no longer the same, you wiser but not sadder, and I sadder but not wiser, for wiser I could hardly become without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-are-no-longer-the-same-you-wiser-but-not-sadder-and-i-sadder-but/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“I'll be lucky if I can do as well as you when all this's done, just a bit out of breath, a bit bruised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/i-ll-be-lucky-if-i-can-do-as-well-as-you-when-all-this-s-done-just-a/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [He went like one that hath been stunn'd, And is of sense forlorn: A sadder and a wiser man He rose the morrow morn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/he-went-like-one-that-hath-been-stunn-d-and-is-of-sense-forlorn-a/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“London is where people go in order to come back from it sadder and wiser.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/london-is-where-people-go-in-order-to-come-back-from-it-sadder-and/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“It never was any better, it never will be any better. It will only be richer or poorer, sadder but not wiser, until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-m-miller-jr/it-never-was-any-better-it-never-will-be-any-better-it-will-only-be/) [Walter M. Miller Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-m-miller-jr/) > [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/) > [“Searching my heart for its true sorrow, This is the thing I find to be: That I am weary of words and people, Sick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/searching-my-heart-for-its-true-sorrow-this-is-the-thing-i-find-to-be/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [“People talk of sorrow as if it is soft, a thing of water and tears. But true sorrow is not soft. True sorrow is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/people-talk-of-sorrow-as-if-it-is-soft-a-thing-of-water-and-tears-but-2/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [People talk of sorrow as if it is soft, a thing of water and tears. But true sorrow is not soft. True sorrow is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/people-talk-of-sorrow-as-if-it-is-soft-a-thing-of-water-and-tears-but/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Sorrow is not a raven perched persistently above a chamber door. Sorrow is a thing with teeth, and while in time it retreats, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/sorrow-is-not-a-raven-perched-persistently-above-a-chamber-door/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [But coming to terms with one’s sorrow is one thing; sharing it with strangers is quite another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/but-coming-to-terms-with-one-s-sorrow-is-one-thing-sharing-it-with/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [All life long, the same questions, the same answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/all-life-long-the-same-questions-the-same-answers/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“life can seem either very long or very short, according to how you live it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/life-can-seem-either-very-long-or-very-short-according-to-how-you/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Give life long enough and it will solve all your problems, including the one of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/give-life-long-enough-and-it-will-solve-all-your-problems-including/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) ## More by Samuel Beckett > [“It was December, I had never felt so cold, the eel soup lay heavy on my stomach, I was afraid I'd die, I turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-was-december-i-had-never-felt-so-cold-the-eel-soup-lay-heavy-on-my/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“To be always what I am - and so changed from what I was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-be-always-what-i-am-and-so-changed-from-what-i-was/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [To what will love not stoop!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-what-will-love-not-stoop/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [With all this darkness round me I feel less alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/with-all-this-darkness-round-me-i-feel-less-alone/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“You may say it is all in my head, and indeed sometimes it seems to me I am in a head and that these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/you-may-say-it-is-all-in-my-head-and-indeed-sometimes-it-seems-to-me/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“Here he stood. Here he sat. Here he knelt. Here he lay. Here he moved, to and fro, from the door to the window,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/here-he-stood-here-he-sat-here-he-knelt-here-he-lay-here-he-moved-to/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-shall-state-silences-more-competently-than-ever-a-better-man/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [It is useless not to seek, not to want, for when you cease to seek you start to find, and when you cease to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-is-useless-not-to-seek-not-to-want-for-when-you-cease-to-seek-you/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [We are not saints, but we have kept our appointment. How many people can boast as much?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-are-not-saints-but-we-have-kept-our-appointment-how-many-people/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [The new light above my table is a great improvement. With all this darkness around me I feel less alone. (Pause.) In a way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-new-light-above-my-table-is-a-great-improvement-with-all-this/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. We lay there without moving. But under us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-lay-down-across-her-with-my-face-in-her-breasts-and-my-hand-on-her/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Women are all the bloody sameyou can't love for five minutes without wanting it abolished in brats and house bloody wifery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/women-are-all-the-bloody-sameyou-can-t-love-for-five-minutes-without/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“ESTRAGON: Do you think God sees me? VLADIMIR: You must close your eyes. Estragon closes his eyes, staggers worse. ESTRAGON: (stopping, brandishing his fists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/estragon-do-you-think-god-sees-me-vladimir-you-must-close-your-eyes/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Deplorable mania, when something happens, to inquire what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/deplorable-mania-when-something-happens-to-inquire-what/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) [Explore all 609 Samuel Beckett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## More Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But we know that we are no longer the same, and not only know that we are no longer the same, but know in what we are no longer the same, you wiser but not sadder, and I sadder but not wiser, for wiser I could hardly become without grave personal inconvenience, whereas sorrow is a thing you can keep on adding to all your life long, is it not, like a stamp or egg collection”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Beckett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/but-we-know-that-we-are-no-longer-the-same-and-not-only-know-that-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/but-we-know-that-we-are-no-longer-the-same-and-not-only-know-that-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/samuel-beckett-365_grief_but-we-know-that-we-are-no-longer-the-sa_1559608.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/samuel-beckett-365_grief_but-we-know-that-we-are-no-longer-the-sa_1559608.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/samuel-beckett-365_grief_but-we-know-that-we-are-no-longer-the-sa_1559608.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But we know that we are no longer the same, and not only know that we are no longer the same, but know in…” — Samuel Beckett", "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": "Samuel Beckett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But we know that we are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/but-we-know-that-we-are-no-longer-the-same-and-not-only-know-that-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/but-we-know-that-we-are-no-longer-the-same-and-not-only-know-that-we/#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 } } ] } ```