--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Truly we are creatures of labor and…" description: "\"“Truly we are creatures of labor and suffering, and nothing for long. Labor and suffering, and the plain sight of our destiny is the cruelest thing of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/224/euripides-472_destiny_truly-we-are-creatures-of-labor-and-suff_3057577.png" --- # Truly we are creatures of labor and suffering, and nothing… ![“Truly we are creatures of labor and suffering, and nothing for long. Labor and suffering, and the plain sight of our destiny is the cruelest thing of all.” quote by Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/224/euripides-472_destiny_truly-we-are-creatures-of-labor-and-suff_3057577.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/224/euripides-472_destiny_truly-we-are-creatures-of-labor-and-suff_3057577.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/224/euripides-472_destiny_truly-we-are-creatures-of-labor-and-suff_3057577.png) > ““Truly we are creatures of labor and suffering, and nothing for long. Labor and suffering, and the plain sight of our destiny is the cruelest thing of all.”” [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Labor and suffering are inherent to human existence, and this harsh reality defines our destiny. **In simple terms:** Labor and suffering shape destiny. Key Takeaway Accept suffering as part of life. Themes existence suffering destiny philosophy human condition Mood reflective somber Type philosophical dramatic When to use this quote - workplace stress - personal loss - health challenges - societal hardship Key Concepts Tragic realism Greek drama Questions to Reflect On - How can you find meaning in hardship? - What coping strategies help? A Different Perspective Suffering can be overwhelming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/euripides/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Foresight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foresight/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [“Oh where is the noble face of modesty, or the strength of virtue, now that blasphemy is in power and men have put justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/oh-where-is-the-noble-face-of-modesty-or-the-strength-of-virtue-now/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“He loves power. A terrible love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/he-loves-power-a-terrible-love/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“We would have to think the gods had no minds, to pray for murderers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/we-would-have-to-think-the-gods-had-no-minds-to-pray-for-murderers/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“AGAMEMNON: Oh immovable law of heaven! Oh my anguish, my relentless fate! CLYTEMNESTRA: Yours? Mine. Hers. No relenting for any of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/agamemnon-oh-immovable-law-of-heaven-oh-my-anguish-my-relentless-fate/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“If only the herdsman had not brought him up with the flocks, not reared him, Paris, Alexander, to watch his flock by the clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/if-only-the-herdsman-had-not-brought-him-up-with-the-flocks-not/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“We'll buy back our own harm with what is most dear to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/we-ll-buy-back-our-own-harm-with-what-is-most-dear-to-us/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“No mortal ever knows happiness and good fortune all the way to the end. Each one is born with his bitterness waiting for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/no-mortal-ever-knows-happiness-and-good-fortune-all-the-way-to-the/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [If we ever get free from all the oppressions and wrongs heaped upon us, we must pay for their removal. We must do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/if-we-ever-get-free-from-all-the-oppressions-and-wrongs-heaped-upon/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“Again, again your mind has changed course with the wind. For you think now of godly things ignored when you worked dreadful deeds on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/again-again-your-mind-has-changed-course-with-the-wind-for-you-think/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“The hounds snap fierce at your heels. Turn toward Athens. I hear them pelting hard on you, I see black flesh and snake-hands coiling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/the-hounds-snap-fierce-at-your-heels-turn-toward-athens-i-hear-them/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“Hurry, come hold me, though I am dead. Shed tears on my body as on my grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/hurry-come-hold-me-though-i-am-dead-shed-tears-on-my-body-as-on-my/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“I wish you joy. To spend life's fleeting days mid joy that never meets an evil hour is to be blessed beyond compare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/i-wish-you-joy-to-spend-life-s-fleeting-days-mid-joy-that-never-meets/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“The wisest men follow their own direction And listen to no prophet guiding them. None but the fools believe in oracles, Forsaking their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/the-wisest-men-follow-their-own-direction-and-listen-to-no-prophet/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“What greater sorrow than being forced to leave behind my native earth?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/what-greater-sorrow-than-being-forced-to-leave-behind-my-native-earth/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“Of most dreadful suffering, I am the cause.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/of-most-dreadful-suffering-i-am-the-cause/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) ## More by Euripides > [“Oh where is the noble face of modesty, or the strength of virtue, now that blasphemy is in power and men have put justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/oh-where-is-the-noble-face-of-modesty-or-the-strength-of-virtue-now/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [A second wife is hateful to the children of the first; a viper is not more hateful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/a-second-wife-is-hateful-to-the-children-of-the-first-a-viper-is-not/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Old age is not a total misery. Experience helps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/old-age-is-not-a-total-misery-experience-helps/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“What greater sorrow than being forced to leave behind my native earth?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/what-greater-sorrow-than-being-forced-to-leave-behind-my-native-earth/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Pay special attention to their agony so I might take some pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/pay-special-attention-to-their-agony-so-i-might-take-some-pleasure/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“You don't know what your life is, nor what you're doing, nor who you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/you-don-t-know-what-your-life-is-nor-what-you-re-doing-nor-who-you-are/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [But woe to him, who left to moan, Reviews the hours of brightness gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/but-woe-to-him-who-left-to-moan-reviews-the-hours-of-brightness-gone/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Who then will dare to say I'm weak or timid? No, they'll say I'm loyal as a friend, ruthless as a foe, so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/who-then-will-dare-to-say-i-m-weak-or-timid-no-they-ll-say-i-m-loyal/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“Dreams of the proud man, making great And greater ever, Things which are not of God. In wide And devious coverts, hunter-wise, He coucheth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/dreams-of-the-proud-man-making-great-and-greater-ever-things-which/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [There is desire in those who love to hear about their loved ones' pains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/there-is-desire-in-those-who-love-to-hear-about-their-loved-ones-pains/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Soon all of you immortals Will be as dead as we are! Come on then, what are you waiting for? Have you run out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/soon-all-of-you-immortals-will-be-as-dead-as-we-are-come-on-then-what/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [There is the sky, which is all men's together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/there-is-the-sky-which-is-all-men-s-together/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Youth holds no society with grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/youth-holds-no-society-with-grief/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Leave no stone unturned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/leave-no-stone-unturned/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [The man who glories in his luck may be overthrown by destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/the-man-who-glories-in-his-luck-may-be-overthrown-by-destiny/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) [Explore all 532 Euripides quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) ## More Destiny quotes > [... War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/destiny-is-the-ordained-intention-god-has-sacredly-prepared-with-your/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [“There is no interaction without God with interaction with men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-no-interaction-without-god-with-interaction-with-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 7,925 Destiny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Truly we are creatures of labor and suffering, and nothing for long. Labor and suffering, and the plain sight of our destiny is the cruelest thing of all.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Euripides" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/truly-we-are-creatures-of-labor-and-suffering-and-nothing-for-long/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destiny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/truly-we-are-creatures-of-labor-and-suffering-and-nothing-for-long/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/224/euripides-472_destiny_truly-we-are-creatures-of-labor-and-suff_3057577.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/224/euripides-472_destiny_truly-we-are-creatures-of-labor-and-suff_3057577.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/224/euripides-472_destiny_truly-we-are-creatures-of-labor-and-suff_3057577.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Truly we are creatures of labor and suffering, and nothing for long. Labor and suffering, and the plain…” — Euripides", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Euripides", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Truly we are creatures of labor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/truly-we-are-creatures-of-labor-and-suffering-and-nothing-for-long/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/truly-we-are-creatures-of-labor-and-suffering-and-nothing-for-long/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```