--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How small of all that human hearts…" description: "\"How small of all that human hearts endure/That part which laws or kings can cause or cure.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/samuel-johnson-50_causes_how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endur_1479838.png" --- # How small of all that human hearts endure/That part which… ![“How small of all that human hearts endure/That part which laws or kings can cause or cure.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/samuel-johnson-50_causes_how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endur_1479838.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/samuel-johnson-50_causes_how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endur_1479838.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/samuel-johnson-50_causes_how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endur_1479838.png) > “How small of all that human hearts endure/That part which laws or kings can cause or cure.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human hearts endure little; laws and rulers can both harm and heal. **In simple terms:** Human hearts are fragile; law can help or hurt. Key Takeaway Advocate humane governance. Themes fragility law human nature Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - legislation - human rights activism - community care Key Concepts political philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can law be both cure and cause? - What protects fragile hearts? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cause Cure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-cure-2854511/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cures/) [Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/) [Endure Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure-laws-1549636/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Hearts Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearts-endure-1280417/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Human Hearts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-hearts-931558/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-kings-3504507/) ## Related quotes > [“How small, of all that human hearts endure, That part which laws or kings can cause or cure. Still to ourselves in every place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endure-that-part-which-laws-or/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [How small of all that human hearts endure, That part which laws or kings can cause or cure! Still to ourselves in every place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endure-that-part-which-laws-or-3/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Thus men, according to Bossuet, derive nothing from themselves; patriotism, wealth, inventions, husbandry, science—all come to them by the operation of the laws, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/thus-men-according-to-bossuet-derive-nothing-from-themselves/) [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [The artificial heart is very effective as a bridge to transplant, but the number of people that can be saved with human hearts is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jarvik/the-artificial-heart-is-very-effective-as-a-bridge-to-transplant-but/) [Robert Jarvik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jarvik/) > [Too many people are hungry not because there is dearth of food. It is because there is dearth of love and care in human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/too-many-people-are-hungry-not-because-there-is-dearth-of-food-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We've got to rebuild human hearts - and persuade people that hope isn't just possible, but essential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-snow/we-ve-got-to-rebuild-human-hearts-and-persuade-people-that-hope-isn-t/) [Tony Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-snow/) > [The great river-courses which have shaped the lives of men have hardly changed; and those other streams, the life-currents that ebb and flow in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-great-river-courses-which-have-shaped-the-lives-of-men-have/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [A faerie heart is different from a human heart. Human hearts are elastic. They have room for all sorts of passions, and they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-faerie-heart-is-different-from-a-human-heart-human-hearts-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn also grappled with this tendency, but he came to the conclusion that “the line separating good and evil passes not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/russian-writer-aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-also-grappled-with-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You can't be the cause and the cure, mon amour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-mostafa/you-can-t-be-the-cause-and-the-cure-mon-amour/) [Ahmed Mostafa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-mostafa/) > [ Love will break your heart,\[...\] but love can also mend it. Not many things in life are both the cause and the cure. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/love-will-break-your-heart-but-love-can-also-mend-it-not-many-things/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [The first step to prescribing the right medicine is to recognize the cause of the illness. And, when it comes to what is ailing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghuram-rajan/the-first-step-to-prescribing-the-right-medicine-is-to-recognize-the/) [Raghuram Rajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghuram-rajan/) > [The reality, certainly in my life, is that we all have love stories that go terribly wrong; we all have horribly broken hearts. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-reality-certainly-in-my-life-is-that-we-all-have-love-stories/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Only courageous hearts can endure the bitterness of truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/only-courageous-hearts-can-endure-the-bitterness-of-truth/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [When an immortal passion breathes in mortal clay; Our hearts endure the scourge, the plaited thorns, the way Crowded with bitter faces, the wounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/when-an-immortal-passion-breathes-in-mortal-clay-our-hearts-endure/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Causes quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Many patients imagine that they have tried everything. True, they have used many remedies, but they have never had the cause of their infirmity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-palmer/many-patients-imagine-that-they-have-tried-everything-true-they-have/) [Daniel D. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-palmer/) > [Get out from that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans. Well, roll my breakfast cause I'm a hungry man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-joe-turner/get-out-from-that-kitchen-and-rattle-those-pots-and-pans-well-roll-my/) [Big Joe Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-joe-turner/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [God hides Himself behind causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-rollin/god-hides-himself-behind-causes/) [Charles Rollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-rollin/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [I don't wear rubbers cause you can't catch it twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-norton/i-don-t-wear-rubbers-cause-you-can-t-catch-it-twice/) [Jim Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-norton/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things / Like / My cousin comes to visit and you know he's from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloise-greenfield/i-love-a-lot-of-things-a-whole-lot-of-things-like-my-cousin-comes-to/) [Eloise Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloise-greenfield/) > [Many companies have long contended that stress in the home causes productivity loss in the market place.. and it does. But research now reveals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/many-companies-have-long-contended-that-stress-in-the-home-causes/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [The miracle drugs (neuroleptics) cause the worst plague of brain damage in medical history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/the-miracle-drugs-neuroleptics-cause-the-worst-plague-of-brain-damage/) [Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/) [Browse all 9,070 Causes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How small of all that human hearts endure/That part which laws or kings can cause or cure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endure-that-part-which-laws-or-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Causes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endure-that-part-which-laws-or-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/samuel-johnson-50_causes_how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endur_1479838.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/samuel-johnson-50_causes_how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endur_1479838.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/samuel-johnson-50_causes_how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endur_1479838.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How small of all that human hearts endure/That part which laws or kings can cause or cure.” — Samuel Johnson", "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 Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How small of all that human...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endure-that-part-which-laws-or-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/how-small-of-all-that-human-hearts-endure-that-part-which-laws-or-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 } } ] } ```