Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Koro]

I've seen the phrase, 'Your gratitude is payment enough.' or similar phrases to it in some writing, but I cannot find it in the dictionaries. Is it a set phrase which native English speakers often use? I'd appreaciate it if you could tell me about this phrase.
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Koro

[Lorikeet]

Yes, I think you could say it was a set phrase. It would be used if someone did something for another person, and that person wanted to give the first person some money as a thank you. The first person could say, "Your gratitude is payment enough." meaning "You told me how much you appreciated my help and saying thank you is enough. I don't need money for it."

[CP]

Very true and well put.

But I can't resist mentioning what Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis, once said:

Sometimes a patient of mine will say to me, "Oh, Dr. Freud, you have helped me so much. How can I ever thank you?" I reply, "Ever since the Babylonians invented money, there has been but one answer to that question."

I guess gratitude (and the high fees he charged his wealthy clients in the first place) was not payment enough for Dr. Freud.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb