--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’ve known people that the world has…" description: "\"I’ve known people that the world has thrown everything at to discourage them...to break their spirit. And yet something about them retains a dignity. T..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/horton-foote-27228_break_i-ve-known-people-that-the-world-has-thr_1319803.jpg" --- # I’ve known people that the world has thrown everything at… ![“I’ve known people that the world has thrown everything at to discourage them...to break their spirit. And yet something about them retains a dignity. They face life and don’t ask quarters.” quote by Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/horton-foote-27228_break_i-ve-known-people-that-the-world-has-thr_1319803.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/horton-foote-27228_break_i-ve-known-people-that-the-world-has-thr_1319803.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/horton-foote-27228_break_i-ve-known-people-that-the-world-has-thr_1319803.jpg) > “I’ve known people that the world has thrown everything at to discourage them...to break their spirit. And yet something about them retains a dignity. They face life and don’t ask quarters.” [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even when crushed, some retain dignity and refuse to surrender. **In simple terms:** Dignity persists under pressure. Key Takeaway Respect resilient spirits. Themes dignity perseverance human spirit Mood inspirational somber Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - abuse survivors - war veterans - poverty-stricken families Key Concepts existentialism psychology of resilience Questions to Reflect On - What fuels your inner dignity? - When have you seen dignity break? A Different Perspective Not everyone can maintain dignity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I believe very deeply in the human spirit, and I have a sense of awe about it. I look around and ask, 'What makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-believe-very-deeply-in-the-human-spirit-and-i-have-a-sense-of-awe/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [Today and over the foreseeable future,traditional capitalism throughout most of the world has been thrown on a defensive from which it is doubtful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heilbroner/today-and-over-the-foreseeable-future-traditional-capitalism/) [Robert Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heilbroner/) > [The one who fights back retains his dignity and his self-respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/the-one-who-fights-back-retains-his-dignity-and-his-self-respect/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [Don't let fear of failure discourage you. Don't let the voice of critics paralyze you - whether that voice comes from the outside or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/don-t-let-fear-of-failure-discourage-you-don-t-let-the-voice-of/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [We must be careful not to discourage our twelve-year-olds by making them waste the best years of their lives preparing for examinations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/we-must-be-careful-not-to-discourage-our-twelve-year-olds-by-making/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Ignore people who tell you 'you can't' or try to discourage you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-gitomer/ignore-people-who-tell-you-you-can-t-or-try-to-discourage-you/) [Jeffrey Gitomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-gitomer/) > [The enemy will hit you in your area of strength to discourage himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hunt/the-enemy-will-hit-you-in-your-area-of-strength-to-discourage-himself/) [Johnny Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hunt/) > [Never listen to anybody who try to discourage you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-carey/never-listen-to-anybody-who-try-to-discourage-you/) [Mariah Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-carey/) > [Well-lit streets discourage sin, but don't overdo it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/well-lit-streets-discourage-sin-but-don-t-overdo-it/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [I'd address his way of trying to discourage Ian later. After all, he could have come up with something other than saying I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-d-address-his-way-of-trying-to-discourage-ian-later-after-all-he/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [China should be developing through the various foreign investments it receives. I hope for its level-headed and rational understanding that anything to discourage that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoshihiko-noda/china-should-be-developing-through-the-various-foreign-investments-it/) [Yoshihiko Noda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoshihiko-noda/) > [I want to discourage you from choosing anything or making any decision simply because it is safe. Things of value seldom are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/i-want-to-discourage-you-from-choosing-anything-or-making-any/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Some pretences daunt and discourage us, while others raise us to a brisk assurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-glanvill/some-pretences-daunt-and-discourage-us-while-others-raise-us-to-a/) [Joseph Glanvill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-glanvill/) > [Disappointment is inevitable. But to become discouraged, there's a choice I make. God would never discourage me. He would always point me to himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stanley/disappointment-is-inevitable-but-to-become-discouraged-there-s-a/) [Charles Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stanley/) > [Luke, I don't want to discourage your curiosity, but I have to remind you, if something goes wrong, this is an exceptionally embarassing way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-allston/luke-i-don-t-want-to-discourage-your-curiosity-but-i-have-to-remind/) [Aaron Allston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-allston/) ## More by Horton Foote > [I come out of a strong oral tradition in the South.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-come-out-of-a-strong-oral-tradition-in-the-south/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [I have enormous respect for the human being because they're asked to take on a lot. And I don't think there's any easy solution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-have-enormous-respect-for-the-human-being-because-they-re-asked-to/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [I often write about nonreligious people, and I try to find situations where their sense of humanity is restored or discovered. I think you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-often-write-about-nonreligious-people-and-i-try-to-find-situations/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [My mother, twenty-two, was Harriet Gautier Brooks, named for her paternal grandmother, but always called Hallie. My father, twenty-six, was Albert Horton Foote, named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/my-mother-twenty-two-was-harriet-gautier-brooks-named-for-her/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [I've lived long enough to know things go in and out of fashion, and things not well received now can be totally reversed years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-ve-lived-long-enough-to-know-things-go-in-and-out-of-fashion-and/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [Writing is the thing that props me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/writing-is-the-thing-that-props-me-up/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [When you're a writer, you have to write these stories, even if you don't get paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/when-you-re-a-writer-you-have-to-write-these-stories-even-if-you-don/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [A writer has an inescapable voice. I think it's inherent in the nature, and I think that we don't control it anymore than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/a-writer-has-an-inescapable-voice-i-think-it-s-inherent-in-the-nature/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [I believe very deeply in the human spirit, and I have a sense of awe about it. I look around and ask, 'What makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-believe-very-deeply-in-the-human-spirit-and-i-have-a-sense-of-awe/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [I don't think I'll ever stop writing. I write almost every day. I'd write plays even if they were never done again. You're at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-don-t-think-i-ll-ever-stop-writing-i-write-almost-every-day-i-d/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [Early on, I said to myself that I would like to write a kind of moral and spiritual history of a place. It sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/early-on-i-said-to-myself-that-i-would-like-to-write-a-kind-of-moral/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [You have to watch out with my plays. They're like yeast. You think they're one thing, then all of a sudden subtext gets to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/you-have-to-watch-out-with-my-plays-they-re-like-yeast-you-think-they/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [I'm a social writer in the sense that I want to record, but not in the sense of trying to change people's minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-m-a-social-writer-in-the-sense-that-i-want-to-record-but-not-in-the/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [But I don't really write to honor the past. I write to investigate, to try to figure out what happened and why it happened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/but-i-don-t-really-write-to-honor-the-past-i-write-to-investigate-to/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [I so earnestly believe that prayer can be helpful and guide you and protect you and inspire you. I mean, I'm in awe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-so-earnestly-believe-that-prayer-can-be-helpful-and-guide-you-and/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) [Explore all 21 Horton Foote quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) ## More Break quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) Peter Dunne > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) Browse all 8,188 Break quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I’ve known people that the world has thrown everything at to discourage them...to break their spirit. And yet something about them retains a dignity. They face life and don’t ask quarters.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horton Foote" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-ve-known-people-that-the-world-has-thrown-everything-at-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Break" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-ve-known-people-that-the-world-has-thrown-everything-at-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/horton-foote-27228_break_i-ve-known-people-that-the-world-has-thr_1319803.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/horton-foote-27228_break_i-ve-known-people-that-the-world-has-thr_1319803.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/horton-foote-27228_break_i-ve-known-people-that-the-world-has-thr_1319803.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’ve known people that the world has thrown everything at to discourage them...to break their spirit. And…” — Horton Foote", "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": "Horton Foote", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I’ve known people that the world...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-ve-known-people-that-the-world-has-thrown-everything-at-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-ve-known-people-that-the-world-has-thrown-everything-at-to/#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 } } ] } ```