--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When men are unhappy, they do not imagine…" description: "\"When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they do not see how they can get rid..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b5/epictetus-413_calamity_when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine_30728.jpg" --- # When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever… ![“When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they do not see how they can get rid of it. Nevertheless, both arrive; and the gods have ordered it so, in the end men seek it from the gods” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b5/epictetus-413_calamity_when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine_30728.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b5/epictetus-413_calamity_when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine_30728.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b5/epictetus-413_calamity_when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine_30728.jpg) > “When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they do not see how they can get rid of it. Nevertheless, both arrive; and the gods have ordered it so, in the end men seek it from the gods” [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often feel trapped by misfortune, believing it immutable, yet they still seek divine relief, reflecting a paradox of resignation and hope. **In simple terms:** Resignation vs hope in suffering Key Takeaway We cling to divine aid despite believing change impossible Themes human suffering agency divine will resignation hope Mood reflective somber hopeful Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal crisis - natural disaster - health decline - financial loss Key Concepts perception of control faith psychological coping Practical Applications - counseling for acceptance - spiritual guidance Questions to Reflect On - Why do we turn to higher powers when we feel powerless? - How can acceptance coexist with hope? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Calamity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calamity/) [Cease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cease/) [End Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-men-425812/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Fallen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallen/) [Gods Ordered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods-ordered-425811/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Seek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-seek-425809/) [Men Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-unhappy-425808/) [Nevertheless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nevertheless/) [Seek Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seek-gods-425810/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) ## Related quotes > [But when you have order, you don't need Gods. When everything is well ordered and disciplined then nothing is unexpected. If you understand everything,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/but-when-you-have-order-you-don-t-need-gods-when-everything-is-well/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [I've noticed that men get unhappy about women talking about something other than men, or love, or babies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarethe-von-trotta/i-ve-noticed-that-men-get-unhappy-about-women-talking-about-something/) [Margarethe von Trotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarethe-von-trotta/) > [The abode of God, too, is wherever is earth and sea and air, and sky and virtue. Why further do we seek the Gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucan/the-abode-of-god-too-is-wherever-is-earth-and-sea-and-air-and-sky-and/) [Lucan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucan/) > [“God is one and there is but one God — all else is but the way the ignorant seek to put Gods into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/god-is-one-and-there-is-but-one-god-all-else-is-but-the-way-the/) [Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/) > [Many exceedingly rich men are unhappy, but many middling circumstances are fortunate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herodotus/many-exceedingly-rich-men-are-unhappy-but-many-middling-circumstances/) [Herodotus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herodotus/) > [Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/men-who-are-unhappy-like-men-who-sleep-badly-are-always-proud-of-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Men will always seek gods in whose name they may perform great deeds or commit unspeakable atrocities, even when those gods are not gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/men-will-always-seek-gods-in-whose-name-they-may-perform-great-deeds/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [With our mortal minds we should seek from the gods that which becomes us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pindar/with-our-mortal-minds-we-should-seek-from-the-gods-that-which-becomes/) [Pindar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pindar/) > [People, he thought, were as hungry for a sight of joy as he had always been--for a moment's relief from that gray load of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/people-he-thought-were-as-hungry-for-a-sight-of-joy-as-he-had-always/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“Protecting ten innocents is not worth killing one. In the end, all men die. How you lived will be far more important”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/protecting-ten-innocents-is-not-worth-killing-one-in-the-end-all-men/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > ['The End of Men' was an incendiary title, but the actual book was very sympathetic to men. It was very invested in a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-traister/the-end-of-men-was-an-incendiary-title-but-the-actual-book-was-very/) [Rebecca Traister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-traister/) > [I think the main thing that has to end is men's defensiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/i-think-the-main-thing-that-has-to-end-is-men-s-defensiveness/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [“Death is the end of all men!” Dalinar bellowed. “What is the measure of him once he is gone? The wealth he accumulated and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/death-is-the-end-of-all-men-dalinar-bellowed-what-is-the-measure-of/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“It is time for us to fight, and we do so not because we seek the glory of men, but because the other options…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/it-is-time-for-us-to-fight-and-we-do-so-not-because-we-seek-the-glory/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [In the US in recent years, around a third of all open management positions have gone to women. My research over the last three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanna-rosin/in-the-us-in-recent-years-around-a-third-of-all-open-management/) [Hanna Rosin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanna-rosin/) ## More by Epictetus > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/practice-yourself-for-heaven-s-sake-in-little-things-and-then-proceed/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/do-not-laugh-much-or-often-or-unrestrainedly/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-not-disturbed-by-what-happens-to-us-but-by-our-thoughts-about/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-be-prideful-with-any-excellence-that-is-not-your-own/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/you-know-yourself-what-you-are-worth-in-your-own-eyes-and-at-what/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into ones that are new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/as-a-man-casting-off-worn-out-garments-taketh-new-ones-so-the-dweller/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [If you would improve, submit to be considered wihout sense and foolish with respect to externals. Wish to be considered to know nothing; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-improve-submit-to-be-considered-wihout-sense-and-foolish/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“For it is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/for-it-is-not-death-or-pain-that-is-to-be-feared-but-the-fear-of-pain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [What else can I do, a lame old man, but sing hymns to God? If I were a nightingale, I would do the nightingale's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-else-can-i-do-a-lame-old-man-but-sing-hymns-to-god-if-i-were-a/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [People are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/small-minded-people-blame-others-average-people-blame-themselves-the/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/all-philosophy-lies-in-two-words-sustain-and-abstain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [It was the first and most striking characteristic of Socrates never to become heated in discourse, never to utter an injurious or insulting word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/it-was-the-first-and-most-striking-characteristic-of-socrates-never/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) [Explore all 577 Epictetus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More Calamity quotes > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In spite of calamity, He still has a plan for me, And it’s working for my good, And it’s building my testimony...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-sapp/in-spite-of-calamity-he-still-has-a-plan-for-me-and-it-s-working-for/) [Marvin Sapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-sapp/) > [Calamity, war, famine, plague, death, adversity, disease, injury do not necessarily produce repentance. We may become better in a calamity but it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/calamity-war-famine-plague-death-adversity-disease-injury-do-not/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I doubt if I have made the best use of all my calamities. Soft, amiable natures they would have refined to saintliness; of strong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-doubt-if-i-have-made-the-best-use-of-all-my-calamities-soft-amiable/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Drudgery, calamity, exasperation, want, are instructors in eloquence and wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/drudgery-calamity-exasperation-want-are-instructors-in-eloquence-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [It is the common calamity of old age to lose whatever might have rendered it desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/it-is-the-common-calamity-of-old-age-to-lose-whatever-might-have/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [The liberty of the press is a blessing when we are inclined to write against others, and a calamity when we find ourselves overborne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-liberty-of-the-press-is-a-blessing-when-we-are-inclined-to-write/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [There is a big lesson in experiencing uncertainty and calamity with a sober focus - the most chaotic moments are the ones from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-stiles/there-is-a-big-lesson-in-experiencing-uncertainty-and-calamity-with-a/) [Tara Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-stiles/) > [The worst calamity: 'To have eyes and fail to see.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-worst-calamity-to-have-eyes-and-fail-to-see/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Such exceptional suffering and calamity, then, affecting the hero, and-we must now add-generally extending far and wide beyond him, so as to make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-bradley/such-exceptional-suffering-and-calamity-then-affecting-the-hero-and/) [A. C. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-bradley/) > [When a man has calamity upon calamity the world generally concludes that he must be a very wicked man to deserve them. Perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/when-a-man-has-calamity-upon-calamity-the-world-generally-concludes/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [I can remember certain Manchester United defeats the way most people remember family bereavements or great political events. The four-nil drubbing by Barcelona, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-dunne/i-can-remember-certain-manchester-united-defeats-the-way-most-people/) [Tom Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-dunne/) > [Nature always wears the colors of the spirit. To a man laboring under calamity the heat of his own fire hath sadness in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-always-wears-the-colors-of-the-spirit-to-a-man-laboring-under/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Browse all 442 Calamity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calamity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they do not see how they can get rid of it. 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