--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All that we know about those we have…" description: "\"All that we know about those we have loved and lost is that they would wish us to remember them with a more intensified realization of their reality. W..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/thornton-wilder-1495_death_all-that-we-know-about-those-we-have-lov_1785639.jpg" --- # All that we know about those we have loved and lost is… ![“All that we know about those we have loved and lost is that they would wish us to remember them with a more intensified realization of their reality. What is essential does not die but clarifies. The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.” quote by Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/thornton-wilder-1495_death_all-that-we-know-about-those-we-have-lov_1785639.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/thornton-wilder-1495_death_all-that-we-know-about-those-we-have-lov_1785639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/thornton-wilder-1495_death_all-that-we-know-about-those-we-have-lov_1785639.jpg) > “All that we know about those we have loved and lost is that they would wish us to remember them with a more intensified realization of their reality. What is essential does not die but clarifies. The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.” [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Remembering loved ones sharpens our perception of their impact; gratitude honors them more than sorrow. **In simple terms:** Memory clarifies reality; gratitude is the highest tribute. Key Takeaway Honor the dead with gratitude. Themes memory gratitude loss legacy Mood reflective solemn Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - funerals - anniversaries - personal reflection - memorial services Key Concepts existential reflection psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you transform grief into gratitude? - What does remembering intensify about a person’s influence? A Different Perspective Gratitude may be hard to feel amid deep grief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dead Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-grief-900559/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Essentials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentials/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Grief Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-gratitude-818286/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Loved and lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loved-and-lost/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Tribute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribute/) [Tribute Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribute-dead-1900426/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [The greatest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-greatest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-grief-but-gratitude/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-grief-but-gratitude/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Grief was the deal God struck with the angel of death, who wanted an unpassable river to separate the living from the dead; grief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamila-shamsie/grief-was-the-deal-god-struck-with-the-angel-of-death-who-wanted-an/) [Kamila Shamsie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamila-shamsie/) > [“Remember you are water. 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All the thoughts that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-lived-inscrutable-hours-a-succession-of-disconnected-moments-in-my/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Its better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemis-khan/its-better-to-have-loved-and-lost-than-never-to-have-loved-at-all/) [Kemis Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemis-khan/) > [“Whoever said it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved was full of crap.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/whoever-said-it-is-better-to-have-loved-and-lost-than-never-to-have/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [Better to have loved and lost than to live with regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-pun/better-to-have-loved-and-lost-than-to-live-with-regret/) [Big Pun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-pun/) ## More by Thornton Wilder > [“He respected the slight nervous shadow that crossed her face when he came too near her. But there arose out of this denial itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-respected-the-slight-nervous-shadow-that-crossed-her-face-when-he/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/when-you-re-safe-at-home-you-wish-you-were-having-an-adventure-when/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Simon Stimson: "...That's what it was to be alive. 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It is your melancholy that makes your low voice tremble into the hearts of men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/without-your-wounds-where-would-your-power-be-it-is-your-melancholy/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Ninety-nine per cent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-people-in-the-world-are-fools-and-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [There's nothing like mixing with woman to bring out all the foolishness in a man of sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/there-s-nothing-like-mixing-with-woman-to-bring-out-all-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) [Explore all 232 Thornton Wilder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. 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