Who really said it
Modern attribution discussed by Wikiquote and the American Dialect Society
Last verified 9 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?
For presentations
Disputed — copy with the correction
“More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones” — Creator unconfirmed; attributed to Teresa of Ávila by Truman Capote, without an established Teresa source.
Can you use it?
We couldn’t verify where this wording comes from, so there’s no rights status to give. Safe to present as an unverified or anonymous line — just don’t assert a specific author or source.
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In context
Evoking the themes of hope, wisdom and doubt. Theme: "More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Minimalist
Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Provenance
More tears are shed over answered prayers Short excerpt
How we verified this
Only a short excerpt is reproduced; identification and commentary do not grant permission to reuse the complete work.
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Fact-check
Wikiquote places the sentence in its disputed section and traces the Teresa credit to a Capote interview; no Teresa text establishes it.
The located modern attribution supplies no identifiable Teresa passage. Capote’s use does not authenticate it.
Context
The saying became associated with the title of Truman Capote’s Answered Prayers. That novel concerns ambition and high society, making the irony of a granted wish especially apt. Its literary use is evidence of circulation, not evidence that the sixteenth-century Teresa supplied these English words.
Explore
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
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Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.
Provides the quotation’s cited modern source and distinguishes the disputed answered-prayers attribution.
Preserves a 2006 exchange about the Capote credit, the related Wilde saying, and the lack of documentation for Teresa.
Describes the unfinished novel Answered Prayers and its high-society setting; metadata, not proof of the epigraph attribution.
Benedict XVI discusses Teresa’s Carmelite reform and spiritual writings; this is context, not authentication of the circulating sentence.
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The author
For writers & researchers
Modern attribution discussed by Wikiquote and the American Dialect Society.
Quotle.info. Who really said 'More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones'? Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/more-tears-are-shed-over-answered-prayers-than-unanswered/