--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not the rich man you should…" description: "\"It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, but him who knows how to use with wisdom the blessings of the gods, to endure hard poverty, and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/horace-172_blessing_it-is-not-the-rich-man-you-should-proper_1843667.jpg" --- # It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, but… ![“It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, but him who knows how to use with wisdom the blessings of the gods, to endure hard poverty, and who fears dishonor worse than death, and is not afraid to die for cherished friends or fatherland.” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/horace-172_blessing_it-is-not-the-rich-man-you-should-proper_1843667.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/horace-172_blessing_it-is-not-the-rich-man-you-should-proper_1843667.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/horace-172_blessing_it-is-not-the-rich-man-you-should-proper_1843667.jpg) > “It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, but him who knows how to use with wisdom the blessings of the gods, to endure hard poverty, and who fears dishonor worse than death, and is not afraid to die for cherished friends or fatherland.” [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True happiness comes from wise use of blessings, enduring hardship, valuing honor over life, and being ready to sacrifice for loved ones or country. **In simple terms:** Happiness is wise use of blessings, honor, and sacrifice. Key Takeaway Cultivate wisdom, honor, and selflessness. Themes honor wisdom valor friendship patriotism Mood reflective serious inspirational Type aphilosophical ethical motivational When to use this quote - military service - family crisis - political activism - personal hardship Key Concepts Stoicism ethical virtue civic duty Questions to Reflect On - What does honor mean to you? - When should self‑sacrifice be limited? A Different Perspective May idealize sacrifice, ignoring personal limits and mental health. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessing/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dishonor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dishonor/) [Fatherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fatherland/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Rich man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-man/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [No man ever properly calculates from time to time what it is his duty to avoid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/no-man-ever-properly-calculates-from-time-to-time-what-it-is-his-duty/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Perhaps man is the only being that can properly be called idle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/perhaps-man-is-the-only-being-that-can-properly-be-called-idle/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [To place man properly at the present time, he stands somewhere between the angels and the French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/to-place-man-properly-at-the-present-time-he-stands-somewhere-between/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is no limit to the ingenuity of man if it is properly and vigorously applied under conditions of peace and justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-is-no-limit-to-the-ingenuity-of-man-if-it-is-properly-and/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The only true time which a man can properly call his own, is that which he has all to himself; the rest, though in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/the-only-true-time-which-a-man-can-properly-call-his-own-is-that/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [We commend a horse for his strength, and sureness of foot, and not for his rich caparisons; a greyhound for his share of heels,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/we-commend-a-horse-for-his-strength-and-sureness-of-foot-and-not-for/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I would give something to know for whose sake precisely those deeds were really done which report says were done for the fatherland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/i-would-give-something-to-know-for-whose-sake-precisely-those-deeds/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Wherever I see some mystique, be it virtue or family, faith or fatherland, there I must commit some indecent act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-gombrowicz/wherever-i-see-some-mystique-be-it-virtue-or-family-faith-or/) [Witold Gombrowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-gombrowicz/) > [When a young man, I read somewhere the following: God the Almighty said, 'All that is too complex is unnecessary, and it is simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-kalashnikov/when-a-young-man-i-read-somewhere-the-following-god-the-almighty-said/) [Mikhail Kalashnikov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-kalashnikov/) > [There is not a more disgusting spectacle under the sun than our subserviency to British criticism. It is disgusting, first, because it is truckling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/there-is-not-a-more-disgusting-spectacle-under-the-sun-than-our/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Our religion is Christ, our politics Fatherland!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-schemm/our-religion-is-christ-our-politics-fatherland/) Hans Schemm > [There is a road to freedom. Its milestones are obedience, endeavour, honesty, order, cleanliness, sobriety, truthfulness, sacrifice, and love of the fatherland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/there-is-a-road-to-freedom-its-milestones-are-obedience-endeavour/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I am driven out of fatherlands and motherlands. Thus I now love only my children's land, yet undiscovered, in the farthest sea; for this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-am-driven-out-of-fatherlands-and-motherlands-thus-i-now-love-only/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [In Russia there is an emigration of intelligence: émigrés cross the frontier in order to read and to write good books. But in doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-russia-there-is-an-emigration-of-intelligence-migr-s-cross-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [First kill me before you take possession of my Fatherland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sitting-bull/first-kill-me-before-you-take-possession-of-my-fatherland/) [Sitting Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sitting-bull/) ## More by Horace > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [No verse can give pleasure for long, nor last, that is written by drinkers of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/no-verse-can-give-pleasure-for-long-nor-last-that-is-written-by/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [A word, once sent abroad, flies irrevocably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-word-once-sent-abroad-flies-irrevocably/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Natales grate numeras? (Do you count your birthdays with gratitude?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/natales-grate-numeras-do-you-count-your-birthdays-with-gratitude/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ In a moment comes either death or joyful victory. \[Lat., Horae Momento cita mors venit aut victoria laeta.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/in-a-moment-comes-either-death-or-joyful-victory-lat-horae-momento/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - It is a sweet and becoming thing to die for ones country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/dulce-et-decorum-est-pro-patria-mori-it-is-a-sweet-and-becoming-thing/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ Neither men, nor gods, nor booksellers' shelves permit ordinary poets to exist. \[Lat., Mediocribus esse poetis Non homines, non di, non concessere columnae.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/neither-men-nor-gods-nor-booksellers-shelves-permit-ordinary-poets-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Avoid inquisitive persons, for they are sure to be gossips, their ears are open to hear, but they will not keep what is entrusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/avoid-inquisitive-persons-for-they-are-sure-to-be-gossips-their-ears/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/you-may-drive-out-nature-with-a-pitchfork-yet-she-still-will-hurry/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [There is a proper measure in all things, certain limits beyond which and short of which right is not to be found. Who so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/there-is-a-proper-measure-in-all-things-certain-limits-beyond-which/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Never despair while under the guidance and auspices of Teucer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/never-despair-while-under-the-guidance-and-auspices-of-teucer/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) [Explore all 1,000 Horace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## More Blessing quotes > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [God loves to glorify himself by suspending his gifts and blessings on our asking him for them. We should never presume to receive from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-storms/god-loves-to-glorify-himself-by-suspending-his-gifts-and-blessings-on/) [Sam Storms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-storms/) > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [Life is all about experiences and being able to work with good people is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika-chawla/life-is-all-about-experiences-and-being-able-to-work-with-good-people/) [Bhumika Chawla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika-chawla/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [“When Jesus finished teaching in a synagogue one day, a woman called out from the audience, 'God bless your mother—the womb from which you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bessey/when-jesus-finished-teaching-in-a-synagogue-one-day-a-woman-called/) [Sarah Bessey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bessey/) > [“I've never felt a pain that didn't bear a blessing. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-knudsen-hoffman/i-ve-never-felt-a-pain-that-didn-t-bear-a-blessing/) Gene Knudsen Hoffman > [Mechanical instruments, potentially a vehicle of rational human purposes, are scarcely a blessing when they enable the gossip of the village idiot and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/mechanical-instruments-potentially-a-vehicle-of-rational-human/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/the-only-men-who-become-gods-even-the-sons-of-god-are-those-who-enter/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [Being of Indian heritage is a challenge - and it's a blessing as well sometimes - because being good isn't good enough. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sacha-dhawan/being-of-indian-heritage-is-a-challenge-and-it-s-a-blessing-as-well/) [Sacha Dhawan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sacha-dhawan/) > [“Time wasted can never be compensated”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/time-wasted-can-never-be-compensated/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [The Louvre! The Louvre has me in its clutches. Every time I'm there rich blessings rain down upon me. I am coming to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-modersohn-becker/the-louvre-the-louvre-has-me-in-its-clutches-every-time-i-m-there/) [Paula Modersohn-Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-modersohn-becker/) > [Life is such a very troublesome matter, when all is said and done, that it's as well even to take its blessings quietly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-braddon/life-is-such-a-very-troublesome-matter-when-all-is-said-and-done-that/) [Mary Elizabeth Braddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-braddon/) > [Down where I grew up, able-bodied people do that which we believe God created them to do. Work is a blessing; it's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-southerland/down-where-i-grew-up-able-bodied-people-do-that-which-we-believe-god/) [Steve Southerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-southerland/) [Browse all 4,617 Blessing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, but him who knows how to use with wisdom the blessings of the gods, to endure hard poverty, and who fears dishonor worse than death, and is not afraid to die for cherished friends or fatherland.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/it-is-not-the-rich-man-you-should-properly-call-happy-but-him-who/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blessing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/it-is-not-the-rich-man-you-should-properly-call-happy-but-him-who/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/horace-172_blessing_it-is-not-the-rich-man-you-should-proper_1843667.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/horace-172_blessing_it-is-not-the-rich-man-you-should-proper_1843667.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/horace-172_blessing_it-is-not-the-rich-man-you-should-proper_1843667.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, but him who knows how to use with wisdom the…” — Horace", "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": "Horace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is not the rich man...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/it-is-not-the-rich-man-you-should-properly-call-happy-but-him-who/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/it-is-not-the-rich-man-you-should-properly-call-happy-but-him-who/#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 } } ] } ```