--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is well for a man when he has learned…" description: "\"It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what he cannot retain.\" — Friedrich Schiller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/friedrich-schiller-832_dignity_it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned_10721.png" --- # It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he… ![“It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what he cannot retain.” quote by Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/friedrich-schiller-832_dignity_it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned_10721.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/friedrich-schiller-832_dignity_it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned_10721.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/friedrich-schiller-832_dignity_it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned_10721.png) > “It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what he cannot retain.” [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Accepting immutable realities and relinquishing unattainable desires preserves inner dignity. **In simple terms:** Resilience and graceful surrender. Key Takeaway Embrace what you can’t change; let go of what you can’t keep. Themes resilience acceptance dignity impermanence self‑control Mood reflective steady hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - facing chronic illness - losing a job - end of a relationship - political oppression Key Concepts stoicism psychological flexibility ethical integrity Practical Applications - counseling for grief - leadership training on change management Questions to Reflect On - What would you lose by clinging to the unchangeable? - How can dignity be maintained while letting go? A Different Perspective Some argue that striving for change is essential for progress, not merely acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) ## Related quotes > [“Once I embraced the dreams that once inspired. Now I've found that there is too much I didn't recognize as a gift. I may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/once-i-embraced-the-dreams-that-once-inspired-now-i-ve-found-that/) [J.D. 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But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/when-i-was-a-boy-of-fourteen-my-father-was-so-ignorant-i-could-hardly-2/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [“One thing that man HAS learned from history, is how to kill (animals) more efficiently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-van-der-westhuizen/one-thing-that-man-has-learned-from-history-is-how-to-kill-animals/) Diane van der Westhuizen > [When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/when-i-was-a-boy-of-14-my-father-was-so-ignorant-i-could-hardly-stand/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Friedrich Schiller > [An axe at home saves hiring a carpenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/an-axe-at-home-saves-hiring-a-carpenter/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [I have enjoyed the happiness of the world; I have loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/i-have-enjoyed-the-happiness-of-the-world-i-have-loved/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [It is easy to give advice from a port of safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-easy-to-give-advice-from-a-port-of-safety/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Why should I deem myself to be a chisel, when I could be the artist?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/why-should-i-deem-myself-to-be-a-chisel-when-i-could-be-the-artist/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [It is through beauty that we arrive at freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-through-beauty-that-we-arrive-at-freedom/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [The first great law is to obey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/the-first-great-law-is-to-obey/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [To gain a crown by fighting is great, to reject it divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/to-gain-a-crown-by-fighting-is-great-to-reject-it-divine/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Even the weak become strong when they are united.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/even-the-weak-become-strong-when-they-are-united/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/man-only-plays-when-in-the-full-meaning-of-the-word-he-is-a-man-and/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Ah, to that far distant strand Bridge there was not to convey, Not a bark was near at hand, Yet true love soon found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/ah-to-that-far-distant-strand-bridge-there-was-not-to-convey-not-a/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [A gloomy guest fits not a wedding feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/a-gloomy-guest-fits-not-a-wedding-feast/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [If you have never seen beauty in a moment of suffering, you have never seen beauty at all. If you have never seen joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/if-you-have-never-seen-beauty-in-a-moment-of-suffering-you-have-never/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Fear of death is worse than dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/fear-of-death-is-worse-than-dying/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [The dream is short, repentance long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/the-dream-is-short-repentance-long/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Individual character is in the right that is in strict consistence with itself. Self-contradiction is the only wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/individual-character-is-in-the-right-that-is-in-strict-consistence/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) [Explore all 350 Friedrich Schiller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) ## More Dignity quotes > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera > [I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-speak-not-for-myself-but-so-those-without-a-voice-can-be-heard/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The dignity of man is in free choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-frisch/the-dignity-of-man-is-in-free-choice/) [Max Frisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-frisch/) > [One of the things I love about Africa is the amount of dignity and respect and humility you see all the time. You don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/one-of-the-things-i-love-about-africa-is-the-amount-of-dignity-and/) [Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/) > [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. Here, too, the real advantage of male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/daily-contact-with-some-teachers-is-itself-all-sided-ethical/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [A man, as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man was capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor/a-man-as-a-man-could-arrive-at-all-the-dignity-that-a-man-was-capable/) [John Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor/) > [There is something to be said for anyone who sits alone with dignity and silently begs for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-something-to-be-said-for-anyone-who-sits-alone-with-dignity/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I just remember that disturbing feeling of walking into that prison, the complete loss of privacy, the complete loss of stimulation, dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/i-just-remember-that-disturbing-feeling-of-walking-into-that-prison/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [Henry Kissinger may have wished I had presented him as a combination of Charles DeGaulle and Disraeli, but I didn't…out of respect for DeGaulle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/henry-kissinger-may-have-wished-i-had-presented-him-as-a-combination/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [The dignity of a woman's life is infinite, her status immeasurable, her capacity unbounded, her role divine...In the fast changing world of today her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/the-dignity-of-a-woman-s-life-is-infinite-her-status-immeasurable-her/) [Maharishi Mahesh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/) > [When we struggle for human rights, for freedom, for dignity, when we feel that it is a ministry of the church to concern itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-struggle-for-human-rights-for-freedom-for-dignity-when-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 3,116 Dignity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what he cannot retain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Schiller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned-to-endure-what-he-cannot/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dignity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned-to-endure-what-he-cannot/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/friedrich-schiller-832_dignity_it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned_10721.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/friedrich-schiller-832_dignity_it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned_10721.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/friedrich-schiller-832_dignity_it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned_10721.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what…” — Friedrich Schiller", "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": "Friedrich Schiller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is well for a man...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned-to-endure-what-he-cannot/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned-to-endure-what-he-cannot/#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 } } ] } ```