proverb · Words worth keeping
Great love causes great sorrow.
Great love causes great sorrow.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Great love causing great sorrow links deep attachment with the possibility of painful loss or difficulty. The saying recognises vulnerability in caring.
What the words are saying
The sentence is not a rule that every strong relationship must cause harm or that suffering proves love. A responsible reading allows joy, boundaries and support. It should not encourage endurance of mistreatment or make a person’s grief a measurement of how much they cared.
Everyday example
Someone supports a grieving friend without comparing the depth of their feelings or calling pain proof of love.
When to use it
Use it as a perspective on attachment and vulnerability, not a test of love.
What it does not mean
No necessary harm, proof of love through suffering or required grief intensity is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
France
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.- Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 772; PDF page 70; collection label: France
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- France