--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If it were possible to cure evils by…" description: "\"If it were possible to cure evils by lamentation and to raise the dead with tears, then gold would be a less valuable thing than weeping.\" — Sophocles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/sophocles-370_gold_if-it-were-possible-to-cure-evils-by-lam_1887600.png" --- # If it were possible to cure evils by lamentation and to… ![“If it were possible to cure evils by lamentation and to raise the dead with tears, then gold would be a less valuable thing than weeping.” quote by Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/sophocles-370_gold_if-it-were-possible-to-cure-evils-by-lam_1887600.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/sophocles-370_gold_if-it-were-possible-to-cure-evils-by-lam_1887600.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/sophocles-370_gold_if-it-were-possible-to-cure-evils-by-lam_1887600.png) > “If it were possible to cure evils by lamentation and to raise the dead with tears, then gold would be a less valuable thing than weeping.” [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grieving cannot literally heal wounds or resurrect the dead, but it shows that emotional expression can outweigh material wealth. **In simple terms:** Weeping can be more valuable than gold. Key Takeaway Value emotional honesty over material gain. Themes empathy value materialism Mood reflective somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - grief counseling - personal loss - mental health support Key Concepts Stoicism humanism Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance emotional expression with practical action? - Can grief be a catalyst for change? A Different Perspective Emotions alone cannot solve practical problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cure Evils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cure-evils-590826/) [Evils Lamentation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evils-lamentation-2707269/) [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Gold Valuable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold-valuable-1286880/) [Lamentation Raise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lamentation-raise-2707270/) [Less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/less/) [Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible/) [Raise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raise/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Tears Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears-gold-941612/) ## Related quotes > [If it were possible to heal sorrow by weeping and to raise the dead with tears, gold were less prized than grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/if-it-were-possible-to-heal-sorrow-by-weeping-and-to-raise-the-dead/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [All a man's affairs become diseased when he wishes to cure evils by evils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/all-a-man-s-affairs-become-diseased-when-he-wishes-to-cure-evils-by/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [As every thread of gold is valuable, so is every moment of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason/as-every-thread-of-gold-is-valuable-so-is-every-moment-of-time/) [John Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason/) > [As every thread of gold is valuable, so is every minute of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason/as-every-thread-of-gold-is-valuable-so-is-every-minute-of-time/) [Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason/) > [“This is essentially why gold is still valuable in the twenty-first century. If gathered together, all the gold ever mined would fit inside a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-miodownik/this-is-essentially-why-gold-is-still-valuable-in-the-twenty-first/) [Mark Miodownik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-miodownik/) > [Self-culture has been loudly and boastfully proclaimed as sufficient for all our ideals of perfection. But if we listen to the best men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/self-culture-has-been-loudly-and-boastfully-proclaimed-as-sufficient/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [We may have found a cure for most evils; but we have found no remedy for the worst of them all, the apathy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/we-may-have-found-a-cure-for-most-evils-but-we-have-found-no-remedy/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [to provide a cure for the evils under which the United States labored; that in tracing these evils to their origin every man had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-randolph/to-provide-a-cure-for-the-evils-under-which-the-united-states-labored/) [Edmund Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-randolph/) > [Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all - the apathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/science-may-have-found-a-cure-for-most-evils-but-it-has-found-no/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Cure the evils of Democracy by the evils of Fascism! 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Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [We cannot cure the evils of politics with politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/we-cannot-cure-the-evils-of-politics-with-politics/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [ “\[Fall, 1951\] To me Acapulco is the detoxicating cure for all the evils of the city: ambition, vanity, quest for success in money, the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/fall-1951-to-me-acapulco-is-the-detoxicating-cure-for-all-the-evils/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-cure-for-the-evils-of-democracy-is-more-democracy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is only one cure for the evils which newly acquired freedom produces, and that cure is freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-only-one-cure-for-the-evils-which-newly-acquired-freedom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Sophocles > [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/) > [God's dice always have a lucky roll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/god-s-dice-always-have-a-lucky-roll/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [A fool cannot be an actor, though an actor may act a fool's part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/a-fool-cannot-be-an-actor-though-an-actor-may-act-a-fool-s-part/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Go then if you must, but remember, no matter how foolish your deeds, those who love you will love you still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/go-then-if-you-must-but-remember-no-matter-how-foolish-your-deeds/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Man's worst ill is stubbornness of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/man-s-worst-ill-is-stubbornness-of-heart/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [A lie never lives to be old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/a-lie-never-lives-to-be-old/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [How dangerous can false reasoning prove!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/how-dangerous-can-false-reasoning-prove/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Why should man fear since chance is all in all for him, and he can clearly foreknow nothing? 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But in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/when-ice-appears-out-of-doors-and-boys-seize-it-up-while-it-is-solid/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [For God hates utterly the bray of bragging tongues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/for-god-hates-utterly-the-bray-of-bragging-tongues/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I have nothing but contempt for the kind of governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/i-have-nothing-but-contempt-for-the-kind-of-governor-who-is-afraid/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“Not from Hades' black and universal lake can you lift him. Not by groaning, not by prayers. Yet you run yourself out in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/not-from-hades-black-and-universal-lake-can-you-lift-him-not-by/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [A fearful man is always hearing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/a-fearful-man-is-always-hearing-things/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [There is a point at which even justice does injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/there-is-a-point-at-which-even-justice-does-injury/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) [Explore all 621 Sophocles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) ## More Gold quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [A great smile is a wonderful asset, but a good heart is pure gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/a-great-smile-is-a-wonderful-asset-but-a-good-heart-is-pure-gold/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/ring-out-false-pride-in-place-and-blood-the-civic-slander-and-the/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [Just as the setting sun turned the clouds to liquid gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ende/just-as-the-setting-sun-turned-the-clouds-to-liquid-gold/) [Michael Ende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ende/) > [No matter what. 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Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [The spectacle of a great, solvent government paying a fictitious price for gold it did not want and did not need and doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garet-garrett/the-spectacle-of-a-great-solvent-government-paying-a-fictitious-price/) [Garet Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garet-garrett/) > [Nothing good comes on a platter of gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-good-comes-on-a-platter-of-gold/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All the people in Korea are cheering me like I'm a gold medalist or something, so I have a responsibility to my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/all-the-people-in-korea-are-cheering-me-like-i-m-a-gold-medalist-or/) [PSY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/) > [All metallics are neutrals. So it is absolutely fine to mix gold and silver; you just want it to look like it has purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-london/all-metallics-are-neutrals-so-it-is-absolutely-fine-to-mix-gold-and/) [Stacy London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-london/) > [He gives only the worthless gold who gives from a sense of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/he-gives-only-the-worthless-gold-who-gives-from-a-sense-of-duty/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) [Browse all 3,806 Gold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If it were possible to cure evils by lamentation and to raise the dead with tears, then gold would be a less valuable thing than weeping.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sophocles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/if-it-were-possible-to-cure-evils-by-lamentation-and-to-raise-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/if-it-were-possible-to-cure-evils-by-lamentation-and-to-raise-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/sophocles-370_gold_if-it-were-possible-to-cure-evils-by-lam_1887600.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/sophocles-370_gold_if-it-were-possible-to-cure-evils-by-lam_1887600.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/sophocles-370_gold_if-it-were-possible-to-cure-evils-by-lam_1887600.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If it were possible to cure evils by lamentation and to raise the dead with tears, then gold would be a less…” — Sophocles", "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": "Sophocles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If it were possible to cure...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/if-it-were-possible-to-cure-evils-by-lamentation-and-to-raise-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/if-it-were-possible-to-cure-evils-by-lamentation-and-to-raise-the/#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 } } ] } ```