“Give a little love to a child, and you get a great deal back.”
- Source
- The Crown of Wild Olive
- Date
- 1866
- Attribution
- Source identified
What does this quote mean?
Ruskin presents affection toward children as relational rather than one-way: care given to a child can be met with trust, warmth and generosity in return.
Where does it come from?
The Crown of Wild Olive, Lecture I, “Work,” Project Gutenberg #26716, printed page 41. Ruskin places the sentence inside a Victorian Christian discussion of what he calls the loving and generous character of “right childhood”; this collection preserves that historical moral framework rather than treating every surrounding prescription as modern child-development evidence.
How should this attribution be read?
This wording is connected with the named source shown above. Translations and editions can vary, so consult the source note when exact wording matters.