--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is one of the major tragedies that…" description: "\"It is one of the major tragedies that nothing is more discomforting than the hearty affection of the Old Friends who never were friends.\" — Sinclair Lewis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/sinclair-lewis-1945_affection_it-is-one-of-the-major-tragedies-that-no_2100341.jpg" --- # It is one of the major tragedies that nothing is more… ![“It is one of the major tragedies that nothing is more discomforting than the hearty affection of the Old Friends who never were friends.” quote by Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/sinclair-lewis-1945_affection_it-is-one-of-the-major-tragedies-that-no_2100341.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/sinclair-lewis-1945_affection_it-is-one-of-the-major-tragedies-that-no_2100341.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/sinclair-lewis-1945_affection_it-is-one-of-the-major-tragedies-that-no_2100341.jpg) > “It is one of the major tragedies that nothing is more discomforting than the hearty affection of the Old Friends who never were friends.” [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The pain of caring for people who pretend to be close but never truly were friends. **In simple terms:** False friendships cause deep discomfort. Key Takeaway Guard against false intimacy. Themes friendship betrayal discomfort trust Mood reflective somber Type philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - personal relationships - workplace dynamics - family gatherings Key Concepts social psychology emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize genuine friendship? - What boundaries protect you? A Different Perspective Not all affection is genuine; discern motives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Discomforting Hearty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discomforting-hearty-4193408/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Hearty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearty/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Major Tragedies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/major-tragedies-950099/) [Old friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-friends/) [Tragedies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedies/) [Tragedies Discomforting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedies-discomforting-4193407/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [The major tragedies in life, there's just no compensation. But the minor ones you can always write about. 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I always find that they are meaty, hearty and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/chestnuts-are-my-favorite-ingredient-to-use-in-the-fall-especially/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [God takes men's hearty desires and will, instead of the deed, where they have not power to fulfill it; but he never took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/god-takes-men-s-hearty-desires-and-will-instead-of-the-deed-where/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [I love everything about Philadelphia, and its food is like the city itself: real-deal, hearty, and without pretension. We've always had an underdog vibe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/i-love-everything-about-philadelphia-and-its-food-is-like-the-city/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [The wild black scavengers of the skies laid their eggs in season and lovingly fed their young. 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'What?' flatly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/she-continued-it-to-hugh-darling-do-you-know-what-mother-and-you-are/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [Is it possible that nobody has ever known that there never has been a completely civilized man, and won't be for another thousand years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/is-it-possible-that-nobody-has-ever-known-that-there-never-has-been-a/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“I think perhaps we want a more conscientious life. We're tired of drudging and sleeping and dying. We're tired of always deferring hope to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/i-think-perhaps-we-want-a-more-conscientious-life-we-re-tired-of/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [It might be the doing of Satan, in whom Aaron anxiously believed with all of his being except, perhaps, his mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-might-be-the-doing-of-satan-in-whom-aaron-anxiously-believed-with/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“The author says one character's definition of a classic is any book he'd heard of before he was thirty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/the-author-says-one-character-s-definition-of-a-classic-is-any-book/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Like all males, he hated to confess ignorance by asking directions,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/like-all-males-he-hated-to-confess-ignorance-by-asking-directions/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [Winter is not a season, it's an occupation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/winter-is-not-a-season-it-s-an-occupation/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Author sees the "congested idealism" of the generally discontent as reservoir that will support centralized power even while disagreeing with many specific provisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/author-sees-the-congested-idealism-of-the-generally-discontent-as/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“The poor we have always with us, and the purpose of the Lord in providing the poor is to enable us of the better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/the-poor-we-have-always-with-us-and-the-purpose-of-the-lord-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) [Explore all 196 Sinclair Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is one of the major tragedies that nothing is more discomforting than the hearty affection of the Old Friends who never were friends.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sinclair Lewis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-is-one-of-the-major-tragedies-that-nothing-is-more-discomforting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affection" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-is-one-of-the-major-tragedies-that-nothing-is-more-discomforting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/sinclair-lewis-1945_affection_it-is-one-of-the-major-tragedies-that-no_2100341.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/sinclair-lewis-1945_affection_it-is-one-of-the-major-tragedies-that-no_2100341.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/sinclair-lewis-1945_affection_it-is-one-of-the-major-tragedies-that-no_2100341.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is one of the major tragedies that nothing is more discomforting than the hearty affection of the Old…” — Sinclair Lewis", "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": "Sinclair Lewis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is one of the major...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-is-one-of-the-major-tragedies-that-nothing-is-more-discomforting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-is-one-of-the-major-tragedies-that-nothing-is-more-discomforting/#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 } } ] } ```