--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is quite a common and vulgar thing…" description: "\"It is quite a common and vulgar thing among humans to understand, foresee, know and predict the troubles of others. But oh what a rare thing it is to p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/francois-rabelais-2038_common_it-is-quite-a-common-and-vulgar-thing-am_1719021.jpg" --- # It is quite a common and vulgar thing among humans to… ![“It is quite a common and vulgar thing among humans to understand, foresee, know and predict the troubles of others. But oh what a rare thing it is to predict, know, foresee and understand one's own troubles.” quote by Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/francois-rabelais-2038_common_it-is-quite-a-common-and-vulgar-thing-am_1719021.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/francois-rabelais-2038_common_it-is-quite-a-common-and-vulgar-thing-am_1719021.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/francois-rabelais-2038_common_it-is-quite-a-common-and-vulgar-thing-am_1719021.jpg) > “It is quite a common and vulgar thing among humans to understand, foresee, know and predict the troubles of others. But oh what a rare thing it is to predict, know, foresee and understand one's own troubles.” [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People easily predict others' troubles, but rarely foresee their own. **In simple terms:** Predicting self‑troubles is rare. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑awareness to anticipate personal challenges. Themes self‑knowledge humility foresight Mood introspective humorous Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal planning - mental health - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What blind spots affect your self‑assessment? - How can you improve self‑prediction? A Different Perspective Self‑prediction can be limited by bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Rare things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rare-things/) [Vulgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgar/) ## Related quotes > [You must understand the troubles of that man farthest down before you can help him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/you-must-understand-the-troubles-of-that-man-farthest-down-before-you/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Love is the only inexplicable language that humans understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-mosaic/love-is-the-only-inexplicable-language-that-humans-understand/) Keith Mosaic > [I think it's important to remember that these men are not perfect. If they were marble gods, what they did wouldn't be so admirable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-think-it-s-important-to-remember-that-these-men-are-not-perfect-if/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“I can't stand humans, but if I understand Jesus, I can understand all. It is safe to say that I do understand all kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-a-barnes/i-can-t-stand-humans-but-if-i-understand-jesus-i-can-understand-all/) [Rita A. Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-a-barnes/) > [Once we as humans understand that we are responsible for our own actions and religion does not give you a free pass to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hutchinson/once-we-as-humans-understand-that-we-are-responsible-for-our-own/) [David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hutchinson/) > [The more we see the founders as humans the more we can understand them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/the-more-we-see-the-founders-as-humans-the-more-we-can-understand-them/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [An unspoiled river is a very rare thing in this Nation today. Their flow and vitality have been harnessed by dams and too often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/an-unspoiled-river-is-a-very-rare-thing-in-this-nation-today-their/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [A fool marvels at rare things, but a wise man at common ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/a-fool-marvels-at-rare-things-but-a-wise-man-at-common-ones/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [“71. Rare Things -- A son-in-law who's praised by his wife's father. Likewise, a wife who's loved by her mother-in-law. A pair of silver…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sei-shonagon/71-rare-things-a-son-in-law-who-s-praised-by-his-wife-s-father/) [Sei Shōnagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sei-shonagon/) > [Sven's actual results on the park were not quite good enough to make him a hero, and not quite bad enough to get him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-lynch/sven-s-actual-results-on-the-park-were-not-quite-good-enough-to-make/) [Declan Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-lynch/) > [I always liked different things, rare things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bad-bunny/i-always-liked-different-things-rare-things/) [Bad Bunny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bad-bunny/) > [Josh Radnor is that rare thing: a writer-director who thinks like an actor but still knows how to create a comedy with shape and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-gleiberman/josh-radnor-is-that-rare-thing-a-writer-director-who-thinks-like-an/) Owen Gleiberman > [Suddenly, as rare things will, it vanished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/suddenly-as-rare-things-will-it-vanished/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [My experience is that an original and compelling idea for a novel is a rare thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thayer/my-experience-is-that-an-original-and-compelling-idea-for-a-novel-is/) [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) > [That's actually a rare thing to be on a set full of people that you admire and make you laugh all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/that-s-actually-a-rare-thing-to-be-on-a-set-full-of-people-that-you/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) ## More by Francois Rabelais > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [If in your soil it takes, to heaven A thousand thousand thanks be given; And say with France, it goodly goes, Where the Pantagruelion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/if-in-your-soil-it-takes-to-heaven-a-thousand-thousand-thanks-be/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A child is not a vase to be filled, but a fire to be lit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-child-is-not-a-vase-to-be-filled-but-a-fire-to-be-lit/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A certain jollity of mind, pickled in the scorn of fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-certain-jollity-of-mind-pickled-in-the-scorn-of-fortune/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Indeed, said the monk, a mass, a matins, and vespers well rung are half-said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/indeed-said-the-monk-a-mass-a-matins-and-vespers-well-rung-are-half/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I do not drink more than a sponge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-do-not-drink-more-than-a-sponge/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [ I recognize in \[my readers\] a specific form and individual property, which our predecessors called Pantagruelism, by means of which they never take anything… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-recognize-in-my-readers-a-specific-form-and-individual-property/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Tell the truth and shame the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/tell-the-truth-and-shame-the-devil/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Half the world does not know how the other half lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/half-the-world-does-not-know-how-the-other-half-lives/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [But where are the snows of last year? That was the greatest concern of Villon, the Parisian poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/but-where-are-the-snows-of-last-year-that-was-the-greatest-concern-of/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [The Lord forbid that I should be out of debt, as if indeed I could not be trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/the-lord-forbid-that-i-should-be-out-of-debt-as-if-indeed-i-could-not/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Science sans conscience n' est que le ruine de l'âme. Knowledge without conscience is but the ruine of the soule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/science-sans-conscience-n-est-que-le-ruine-de-l-me-knowledge-without/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I've often heard it said, as the common proverb goes, that a fool can teach a wise man well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-ve-often-heard-it-said-as-the-common-proverb-goes-that-a-fool-can/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [One falls to the ground in trying to sit on two stools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/one-falls-to-the-ground-in-trying-to-sit-on-two-stools/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Go, all of you poor people, in the name of God the Creator, and let him forever be your guide. And henceforth, do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/go-all-of-you-poor-people-in-the-name-of-god-the-creator-and-let-him/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) [Explore all 184 Francois Rabelais quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. 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If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is quite a common and vulgar thing among humans to understand, foresee, know and predict the troubles of others. 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