“Other people’s tragedies should not be the subject of idle conversation.”
Source: Because of Winn-Dixie
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Kate DiCamillo 74
American children's writer 1964Related quotes

§ 5.45
Bodhicaryavatara, A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life

Reflections on Various Subjects (1665–1678), V. On Conversation

“The subject of a good tragedy must not be realistic.”
Le sujet d'une belle tragédie doit n'être pas vraisemblable.
Héraclius (1646), preface.

Tragedy and the Common Man (1949)
Context: There is a misconception of tragedy with which I have been struck in review after review, and in many conversations with writers and readers alike. It is the idea that tragedy is of necessity allied to pessimism. Even the dictionary says nothing more about the word than that it means a story with a sad or unhappy ending. This impression is so firmly fixed that I almost hesitate to claim that in truth tragedy implies more optimism in its author than does comedy, and that its final result ought to be the reinforcement of the onlooker's brightest opinions of the human animal.
For, if it is true to say that in essence the tragic hero is intent upon claiming his whole due as a personality, and if this struggle must be total and without reservation, then it automatically demonstrates the indestructible will of man to achieve his humanity.

“Religion is by no means a proper subject of conversation in a mixed company.”
Letter to his godson, No.112 (undated)
“People say: idle curiosity. The one thing that curiosity cannot be is idle.”

“If you are ever at a loss to support a flagging conversation, introduce the subject of eating.”
Table-talk: To which are Added Imaginary Conversations of Pope and Swift