--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Come now, be a man!' he thought. 'We are…" description: "\"“Come now, be a man!' he thought. 'We are used to adversity; let's not be crushed by a mere disappointment, or else I shall have suffered for nothing. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/637/alexandre-dumas-436_adversity_come-now-be-a-man-he-thought-we-are-used_3012757.jpg" --- # Come now, be a man!' he thought. 'We are used to… ![“Come now, be a man!' he thought. 'We are used to adversity; let's not be crushed by a mere disappointment, or else I shall have suffered for nothing. The heart breaks when it has swelled too much in the warm breath of hope, then finds itself enclosed in cold reality.” quote by Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/637/alexandre-dumas-436_adversity_come-now-be-a-man-he-thought-we-are-used_3012757.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/637/alexandre-dumas-436_adversity_come-now-be-a-man-he-thought-we-are-used_3012757.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/637/alexandre-dumas-436_adversity_come-now-be-a-man-he-thought-we-are-used_3012757.jpg) > ““Come now, be a man!' he thought. 'We are used to adversity; let's not be crushed by a mere disappointment, or else I shall have suffered for nothing. The heart breaks when it has swelled too much in the warm breath of hope, then finds itself enclosed in cold reality.”” [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adversity tests character; disappointment can crush hope, but perseverance builds strength **In simple terms:** Challenges test us; hope can be shattered by harsh reality Key Takeaway Stay resilient despite setbacks Themes adversity hope reality Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily life - career setbacks - relationship issues Key Concepts psychological endurance emotional growth personal struggle Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance hope with realistic expectations? - What strategies help you recover from disappointment? A Different Perspective Hope alone may not protect against disappointment ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Heart breaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-breaks/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ## Related quotes > [Nakedness, hunger, distress of all kinds, death itself have been cheerfully suffered, when the heart was right. 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Any man who thought he had one figured out simply wasn’t paying attention,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-wilks/women-were-complicated-creatures-any-man-who-thought-he-had-one/) [Eileen Wilks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-wilks/) > [“One man, she thought then, could build or destroy, could change time and history, for better or worse. One man. Or one woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-o-neal/one-man-she-thought-then-could-build-or-destroy-could-change-time-and/) [Barbara O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-o-neal/) > [It's the man I thought you were that I can't let go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-skaj/it-s-the-man-i-thought-you-were-that-i-can-t-let-go/) Ann Skaj > [The reality of man is his thought, not his material body. The thought force and the animal force are partners. Although man is part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/the-reality-of-man-is-his-thought-not-his-material-body-the-thought/) [Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/) > [“I've heard two ways of looking at it. One says the silent man is the wise man & the other that a man without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-ve-heard-two-ways-of-looking-at-it-one-says-the-silent-man-is-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Oh,” he said. “I see.” But he did not see, exactly, though he believed that he could have been wrong and that she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/oh-he-said-i-see-but-he-did-not-see-exactly-though-he-believed-that/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“And though history sadly doesn't credit the man who first thought of tilting a bicycle's steering axis, it is more likely to be because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn/and-though-history-sadly-doesn-t-credit-the-man-who-first-thought-of/) Robert Penn > [The intellectual, the man of thought, doubt and analysis, should give the best of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahar-ben-jelloun/the-intellectual-the-man-of-thought-doubt-and-analysis-should-give/) [Tahar Ben Jelloun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahar-ben-jelloun/) > [Idolatry is in a man's own thought, not in the opinion of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/idolatry-is-in-a-man-s-own-thought-not-in-the-opinion-of-another/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) > [It wasn't the way I looked at a man, it was the thought behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-grahame/it-wasn-t-the-way-i-looked-at-a-man-it-was-the-thought-behind-it/) [Gloria Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-grahame/) > [“I had a salad. If I were to say that today's tomatoes were an index of the decline of Western man I should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/i-had-a-salad-if-i-were-to-say-that-today-s-tomatoes-were-an-index-of/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“How many of us have gazed at a man and thought, ‘yes, him,’ only to have him pay his attentions to someone else? And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-enoch/how-many-of-us-have-gazed-at-a-man-and-thought-yes-him-only-to-have/) [Suzanne Enoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-enoch/) ## More by Alexandre Dumas > [“What is the sense in recriminations about things over which the will of God itself is powerless? God can change the future, He cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-is-the-sense-in-recriminations-about-things-over-which-the-will/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [There is no friendship that cares about an overheard secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/there-is-no-friendship-that-cares-about-an-overheard-secret/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [Darling, replied Valentine, has not the count just told us that all human wisdom was contained in these two words,- "Wait and hope"?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/darling-replied-valentine-has-not-the-count-just-told-us-that-all/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“when you have the honour to find yourself in the company of ordinary men and the good fortune to be out of politics for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/when-you-have-the-honour-to-find-yourself-in-the-company-of-ordinary/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“He rose in his turn, and seizing handfuls of confetti and sweetmeats, with which the carriage was filled, cast them with all the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/he-rose-in-his-turn-and-seizing-handfuls-of-confetti-and-sweetmeats/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“A man is always in a hurry to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/a-man-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-happy/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Speak on, madame, speak on, Queen," said Buckingham; "the sweetness of your voice covers the harshness of your words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/speak-on-madame-speak-on-queen-said-buckingham-the-sweetness-of-your/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“On the 24th of February, 1810, the look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, the Pharaon from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/on-the-24th-of-february-1810-the-look-out-at-notre-dame-de-la-garde/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“what despair to see a woman one loves longing for those thousand nothings from which women compose their happiness, and to be unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-despair-to-see-a-woman-one-loves-longing-for-those-thousand/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Here is a man who was resigned to his fate, who was walking to the scaffold and about to die like a coward, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/here-is-a-man-who-was-resigned-to-his-fate-who-was-walking-to-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/i-am-not-proud-but-i-am-happy-and-happiness-blinds-i-think-more-than/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [For there are two distinct sorts of ideas: Those that proceed from the head and those that emanate from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/for-there-are-two-distinct-sorts-of-ideas-those-that-proceed-from-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Besides, what is required of a young man in Paris? To speak its language tolerably, to make a good appearance, to be a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/besides-what-is-required-of-a-young-man-in-paris-to-speak-its/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Carry your sorrow inside you as the cloud conceals ruin and death like a deadly secret that is understood only when the storm breaks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/carry-your-sorrow-inside-you-as-the-cloud-conceals-ruin-and-death/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“What fragile and unknown threads the destinies of nations and the lives of men are suspended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-fragile-and-unknown-threads-the-destinies-of-nations-and-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) [Explore all 473 Alexandre Dumas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. Within our struggles lives our strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/friction-is-necessary-ease-of-life-leads-to-complacency-and-the/) [Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/) > [“Every adversity is just another opportunity to excel a little more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/every-adversity-is-just-another-opportunity-to-excel-a-little-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Just because she doesn't talk about it, doesn't mean she isn't feeling it. She hurts, but she won't wear it on her sleeve. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) James Buckham Kennedy > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) S.E. SEVER > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Come now, be a man!' he thought. 'We are used to adversity; let's not be crushed by a mere disappointment, or else I shall have suffered for nothing. 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