--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The highest tribute to the dead is not…" description: "\"The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.\" — Thornton Wilder" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/thornton-wilder-1495_death_the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-g_1118691.jpg" --- # The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude. ![“The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.” quote by Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/thornton-wilder-1495_death_the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-g_1118691.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/thornton-wilder-1495_death_the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-g_1118691.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/thornton-wilder-1495_death_the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-g_1118691.jpg) > “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. The greatest honor to the dead is expressing gratitude, not sorrow. **In simple terms:** Thankfulness honors the departed more than grief. Key Takeaway Show gratitude for those who have passed. Themes memory gratitude legacy Mood respectful uplifting Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - funeral services - memorials Key Concepts mourning celebration Questions to Reflect On - How can we express gratitude for the departed? - What rituals foster thankful remembrance? A Different Perspective Grief can dominate and mask appreciation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Epitaph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epitaph/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Tribute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribute/) ## 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/) > [All that we know about those we have loved and lost is that they would wish us to remember them with a more intensified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/all-that-we-know-about-those-we-have-loved-and-lost-is-that-they/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/in-recognizing-the-humanity-of-our-fellow-beings-we-pay-ourselves-the/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We're paying the highest tribute you can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It's that simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/we-re-paying-the-highest-tribute-you-can-pay-a-man-we-trust-him-to-do/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Remember you are water. Of course you leave salt trails. Of course you are crying. Flow. P.S. If there happens to be a multitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-maree-brown/remember-you-are-water-of-course-you-leave-salt-trails-of-course-you/) [Adrienne Maree Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-maree-brown/) > [“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-alder/carve-your-name-on-hearts-not-tombstones-a-legacy-is-etched-into-the/) [Shannon Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-alder/) > [History fades into fable; fact becomes clouded with doubt and controversy; the inscription molders from the tablet: the statue falls from the pedestal. Columns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/history-fades-into-fable-fact-becomes-clouded-with-doubt-and/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Our respect for the dead, when they are just dead, is something wonderful, and the way we show it more wonderful still. We show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/our-respect-for-the-dead-when-they-are-just-dead-is-something/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [My epitaph? My epitaph will be, 'Curiosity did not kill this cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/my-epitaph-my-epitaph-will-be-curiosity-did-not-kill-this-cat/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Warm summer sun, shine kindly here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/warm-summer-sun-shine-kindly-here/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say 'figment.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-always-thought-i-d-like-my-own-tombstone-to-be-blank-no-epitaph-and/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > ["Gun-wielding recluse gunned down by local police" isn't the epitaph I want. I am hoping for "Witnesses reported the sound up to two hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nicoll/gun-wielding-recluse-gunned-down-by-local-police-isn-t-the-epitaph-i/) [James Nicoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nicoll/) > [Epitaphs are cheap, and they do a poor chap a world of good after he is dead, especially if he had hard luck while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/epitaphs-are-cheap-and-they-do-a-poor-chap-a-world-of-good-after-he/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Wouldn’t that make a charming epitaph? Here lies Cat. Killed not by fang, but Ferragamos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/wouldn-t-that-make-a-charming-epitaph-here-lies-cat-killed-not-by/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [If I were to write my epitaph... Epitaph? Hey, shut-up Albert. I'd want to be remembered as someone who loved his sport and tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ii-prince-of-monaco/if-i-were-to-write-my-epitaph-epitaph-hey-shut-up-albert-i-d-want-to/) [Albert II, Prince of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ii-prince-of-monaco/) ## 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. To move about in a cloud of ignorance; to go up and down trampling on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/simon-stimson-that-s-what-it-was-to-be-alive-to-move-about-in-a-cloud/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Love as education is one of the great powers of the world, but it hangs in a delicate suspension; it achieves its harmony as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/love-as-education-is-one-of-the-great-powers-of-the-world-but-it/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-great-writers-have-been-extraordinarily-awkward-in-daily/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/a-man-looks-pretty-small-at-a-wedding-george-all-those-good-women/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [The knowledge that she would never be loved in return acted upon her ideas as a tide acts upon cliffs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-knowledge-that-she-would-never-be-loved-in-return-acted-upon-her/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“But while they continued staring into one another’s face waiting for the miracle of science the pain grew worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/but-while-they-continued-staring-into-one-another-s-face-waiting-for/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-am-convinced-that-except-in-a-few-extraordinary-cases-one-form-or/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many who have spent a lifetime in it can tell us less of love than the child that lost a dog yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-who-have-spent-a-lifetime-in-it-can-tell-us-less-of-love-than/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Cesar is not a philosophical man. His life has been one long flight from reflection. At least he is clever enough not to expose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/cesar-is-not-a-philosophical-man-his-life-has-been-one-long-flight/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Every person who has ever lived has lived an unbroken succession of unique occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/every-person-who-has-ever-lived-has-lived-an-unbroken-succession-of/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Without your wounds where would your power be? 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. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [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/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thornton Wilder" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-grief-but-gratitude/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-grief-but-gratitude/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/thornton-wilder-1495_death_the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-g_1118691.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/thornton-wilder-1495_death_the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-g_1118691.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/thornton-wilder-1495_death_the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-g_1118691.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.” — Thornton Wilder", "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": "Thornton Wilder", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The highest tribute to the dead...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-grief-but-gratitude/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-highest-tribute-to-the-dead-is-not-grief-but-gratitude/#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 } } ] } ```