--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wisdom increases and is a burden. I know…" description: "\"“Wisdom increases and is a burden. I know too many people and why I should love them, and the thought that I love them imperfectly is a constant vexati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ac/theodore-roethke-4077_burdens_wisdom-increases-and-is-a-burden-i-know_1535116.jpg" --- # Wisdom increases and is a burden. I know too many people… ![“Wisdom increases and is a burden. I know too many people and why I should love them, and the thought that I love them imperfectly is a constant vexation. My half-life continues. The great error of the American condition: to forget that people are humanity--I don't mean in the cliche sense--but are…” quote by Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ac/theodore-roethke-4077_burdens_wisdom-increases-and-is-a-burden-i-know_1535116.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ac/theodore-roethke-4077_burdens_wisdom-increases-and-is-a-burden-i-know_1535116.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ac/theodore-roethke-4077_burdens_wisdom-increases-and-is-a-burden-i-know_1535116.jpg) > ““Wisdom increases and is a burden. I know too many people and why I should love them, and the thought that I love them imperfectly is a constant vexation. My half-life continues. The great error of the American condition: to forget that people are humanity--I don't mean in the cliche sense--but are a part of the whole stream of history, and, whatever else they may be in the Here and Now, should be respected and considered, and loved as far as possible and not thought of as students, colleagues, anonymous neighbors.”” [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity is a collective burden and blessing; recognizing each person’s worth is essential. **In simple terms:** People are both a burden and a blessing. Key Takeaway Respect every individual. Themes humanity burden respect Mood reflective philosophical Type thoughtful introspective When to use this quote - personal relationships - historical reflection - community building Key Concepts existentialism ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance love and self‑preservation? - What does it mean to love imperfectly? A Different Perspective Balancing empathy with personal limits is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burdens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burdens/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-don-1051429/) [Imperfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperfection/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-humanity-638868/) [Too many people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-many-people/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wisdom Increases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom-increases-4074382/) ## Related quotes > [Comforting Wealth comes by good work, by wisdom it increases, cleverness stabilizes it and by patience it is preserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahesh-babu/comforting-wealth-comes-by-good-work-by-wisdom-it-increases/) [Mahesh Babu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahesh-babu/) > [The experience of the ages that are past, the hopes of the ages that are yet to come, unite their voices in an appeal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-experience-of-the-ages-that-are-past-the-hopes-of-the-ages-that/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [I'm into humanity. I don't believe in God, but I believe in human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-izzard/i-m-into-humanity-i-don-t-believe-in-god-but-i-believe-in-human-beings/) [Eddie Izzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-izzard/) > [To me the greatest problem with humanity is that they don't know anything of meditation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/to-me-the-greatest-problem-with-humanity-is-that-they-don-t-know/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“I do have faith in humanity but I don’t have faith in humans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/i-do-have-faith-in-humanity-but-i-don-t-have-faith-in-humans/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“Anyway, in the interim since I turned writer—a good thirty years—I have hobnobbed with all varieties of man, from the highest to the lowest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/anyway-in-the-interim-since-i-turned-writer-a-good-thirty-years-i/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Screw humanity. I don't give the whole stinking bunch of us more than a couple of generations and good riddance. The universe is better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/screw-humanity-i-don-t-give-the-whole-stinking-bunch-of-us-more-than/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [There are no nations! There is only humanity. And if we don't come to understand that right soon, there will be no nations, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-no-nations-there-is-only-humanity-and-if-we-don-t-come-to/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Humanity? Don't be silly. I know. It is knocking down your fellow-men for the sake of your own happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/humanity-don-t-be-silly-i-know-it-is-knocking-down-your-fellow-men/) [Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/) > [The way I look at humanity, I don't think there's good guys or bad guys. We're all potentially bad and potentially good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stellan-skarsgard/the-way-i-look-at-humanity-i-don-t-think-there-s-good-guys-or-bad/) [Stellan Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stellan-skarsgard/) > [“Technology is worthless if people have no humanity to connect with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vd/technology-is-worthless-if-people-have-no-humanity-to-connect-with/) [VD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vd/) > [The artist has a special task and duty... reminding people of their humanity and the promise of their creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/the-artist-has-a-special-task-and-duty-reminding-people-of-their/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [“The people that humanity needs most are those who manage to be cheerful even on a frightening dark street, because high morale is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-people-that-humanity-needs-most-are-those-who-manage-to-be/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The degree to which one is sensitive to other people's suffering, to other (people's) humanity, is the index of one's own humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/the-degree-to-which-one-is-sensitive-to-other-people-s-suffering-to/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [“Today's common problem: The focus on results and projects, more than on people and their humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/today-s-common-problem-the-focus-on-results-and-projects-more-than-on/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) ## More by Theodore Roethke > [I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I feel my fate in what I cannot fear. I learn by going where I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-wake-to-sleep-and-take-my-waking-slow-i-feel-my-fate-in-what-i/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Those who are willing to be vulnerable move among mysteries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/those-who-are-willing-to-be-vulnerable-move-among-mysteries/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [A lively understandable spirit Once entertained you. It will come again. Be still. Wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/a-lively-understandable-spirit-once-entertained-you-it-will-come/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [I came to love, I came into my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-came-to-love-i-came-into-my-own/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [I bleed my bones, their marrow to bestowUpon that God who knows what I would know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-bleed-my-bones-their-marrow-to-bestowupon-that-god-who-knows-what-i/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [All finite things reveal infinitude: The mountain with its singular bright shade Like the blue shine on freshly frozen snow, The after-light upon ice-burdened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/all-finite-things-reveal-infinitude-the-mountain-with-its-singular/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [We think by feeling. What is there to know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/we-think-by-feeling-what-is-there-to-know/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [I can hear, underground, that sucking and sobbing, In my veins, in my bones I feel it,- The small water seeping upward, The tight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-can-hear-underground-that-sucking-and-sobbing-in-my-veins-in-my/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/over-every-mountain-there-is-a-path-although-it-may-not-be-seen-from/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [(I measure time by how a body sways.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-measure-time-by-how-a-body-sways/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [To follow the drops sliding from a lifting oar, Head up, while the rower breathes, and the small boat drifts quietly shoreward...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/to-follow-the-drops-sliding-from-a-lifting-oar-head-up-while-the/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Any fool can take a bad line out of a poem; it takes a real pro to throw out a good line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/any-fool-can-take-a-bad-line-out-of-a-poem-it-takes-a-real-pro-to/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Love begets love. This torment is my joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/love-begets-love-this-torment-is-my-joy/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [“I Knew a Woman" I knew a woman, lovely in her bones, When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them; Ah, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-knew-a-woman-i-knew-a-woman-lovely-in-her-bones-when-small-birds/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [A mind too active is no mind at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/a-mind-too-active-is-no-mind-at-all/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) [Explore all 116 Theodore Roethke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) ## More Burdens quotes > [“But surely even heroes weary lugging around the burdens of their heroism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-h-trumble/but-surely-even-heroes-weary-lugging-around-the-burdens-of-their/) [J.H. Trumble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-h-trumble/) > [“But, Marcie had reminded herself, I don’t know the weight of anyone else’s burdens—only my own. She didn’t judge. She didn’t feel smart or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-carr/but-marcie-had-reminded-herself-i-don-t-know-the-weight-of-anyone/) [Robyn Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-carr/) > [“Don't be too eager to rid yourself of your burdens. Your burdens are what shape you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-scott-savage/don-t-be-too-eager-to-rid-yourself-of-your-burdens-your-burdens-are/) [J. Scott Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-scott-savage/) > [“There are some lives He brings into this world neither to do great work nor to bear great burdens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-b-e-cowman/there-are-some-lives-he-brings-into-this-world-neither-to-do-great/) [L. B. E. Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-b-e-cowman/) > [The federal bureaucracy has grown enormously - and without permission from people's elected representatives. These rules saddle job creators and everyday citizens with heavy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/the-federal-bureaucracy-has-grown-enormously-and-without-permission/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [Much is said about the burdens and responsibilities of married men. Responsibilities indeed there are, if they but felt them: but as to burdens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernestine-rose/much-is-said-about-the-burdens-and-responsibilities-of-married-men/) [Ernestine Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernestine-rose/) > [Even when our burdens are too much to hold, God gives them to us to make us stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-when-our-burdens-are-too-much-to-hold-god-gives-them-to-us-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've always thought my main concern is to alleviate the burdens on people, who were earning less money, perhaps than £80,000.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwasi-kwarteng/i-ve-always-thought-my-main-concern-is-to-alleviate-the-burdens-on/) [Kwasi Kwarteng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwasi-kwarteng/) > [In a virtuous government, and more especially in times like these, public offices are what they should be - burdens to those appointed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-a-virtuous-government-and-more-especially-in-times-like-these/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In certain cases, empowering women starts with making their lives easier and removing unnecessary burdens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-polman/in-certain-cases-empowering-women-starts-with-making-their-lives/) [Paul Polman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-polman/) > [Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/burdens-are-for-shoulders-strong-enough-to-carry-them/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [Mythologies become exhausting burdens, from a writer's perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kripke/mythologies-become-exhausting-burdens-from-a-writer-s-perspective/) [Eric Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kripke/) > [“Say No! Accept the burdens of revenge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/say-no-accept-the-burdens-of-revenge/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/unnecessary-possessions-are-unnecessary-burdens/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [“Her stories were going to randomly come out. He had to be man enough to listen to them. It was part of carrying her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-levine/her-stories-were-going-to-randomly-come-out-he-had-to-be-man-enough/) [Elaine Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-levine/) [Browse all 246 Burdens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burdens/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Wisdom increases and is a burden. 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