--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be good we must needs have suffered…" description: "\"To be good we must needs have suffered; but perhaps it is necessary to have caused suffering before we can become better.\" — Maurice Maeterlinck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_be-good_to-be-good-we-must-needs-have-suffered-b_2434007.jpg" --- # To be good we must needs have suffered; but perhaps it is… ![“To be good we must needs have suffered; but perhaps it is necessary to have caused suffering before we can become better.” quote by Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_be-good_to-be-good-we-must-needs-have-suffered-b_2434007.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_be-good_to-be-good-we-must-needs-have-suffered-b_2434007.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_be-good_to-be-good-we-must-needs-have-suffered-b_2434007.jpg) > “To be good we must needs have suffered; but perhaps it is necessary to have caused suffering before we can become better.” [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suggests suffering is a prerequisite for moral growth, implying pain can lead to improvement. **In simple terms:** Pain can teach us to be better. Key Takeaway Embrace hardship for growth. Themes suffering growth morality Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal loss - historical trauma - rehabilitation programs - spiritual journeys Key Concepts Existentialism ethical development Questions to Reflect On - What lessons have you learned from pain? - Can suffering be avoided? A Different Perspective Not all suffering yields positive change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Be good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-good/) [Caused Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caused-suffering-317241/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Necessary Caused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-caused-317242/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Needs Suffered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs-suffered-317240/) [Suffered Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffered-necessary-317239/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-better-317243/) ## Related quotes > [All that Christ did and suffered would have been necessary had only one human soul been the object of redemption; and nothing different and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hodge/all-that-christ-did-and-suffered-would-have-been-necessary-had-only/) [Charles Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hodge/) > [We have to go through pain and suffering to be better and become stronger like a seed dropped in dirt covered with darkness it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-vasquez/we-have-to-go-through-pain-and-suffering-to-be-better-and-become/) [Christian Vasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-vasquez/) > [“I'm now asking an idle question of my own: which is better--cheap happiness, or lofty suffering? 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We are different, even when we are in the dark with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/we-are-never-the-same-with-others-as-when-we-are-alone-we-are/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [The living are just the dead on holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/the-living-are-just-the-dead-on-holiday/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“I believe that poems die the moment they are outwardly expressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/i-believe-that-poems-die-the-moment-they-are-outwardly-expressed/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Should we not invariably act in this life as though the God whom our heart desires with its highest desire were watching our every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/should-we-not-invariably-act-in-this-life-as-though-the-god-whom-our/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/at-every-crossway-on-the-road-that-leads-to-the-future-each/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Our lives must be spent seeking our God, for God hides; but His artifices, once they be known, seem so simple and smiling! From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/our-lives-must-be-spent-seeking-our-god-for-god-hides-but-his/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“The angels that dry our eyes bear the form and the features of all we have said and thought—above all, of what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/the-angels-that-dry-our-eyes-bear-the-form-and-the-features-of-all-we/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [What man is there that does not laboriously, though all unconsciously, himself fashion the sorrow that is to be the pivot of his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/what-man-is-there-that-does-not-laboriously-though-all-unconsciously/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“For it is our most secret desire that governs and dominates all. If your eyes look for nothing but evil, you will always see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/for-it-is-our-most-secret-desire-that-governs-and-dominates-all-if/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [It is not from reason that justice springs, but goodness is born of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/it-is-not-from-reason-that-justice-springs-but-goodness-is-born-of/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [To disdain today is to prove that yesterday has been misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yesterday-has-been-misunderstood/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future, tradition has placed 10,000 men to guard the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/at-every-crossroads-on-the-path-that-leads-to-the-future-tradition/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Niemand is waarlijk mijn vriend, voordat we geleerd hebben in elkanders tegenwoordigheid te zwijgen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/niemand-is-waarlijk-mijn-vriend-voordat-we-geleerd-hebben-in/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) [Explore all 114 Maurice Maeterlinck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) ## More Be good quotes > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. 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I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-garner/to-become-a-classical-ballerina-you-have-to-move-to-new-york-when-you/) [Jennifer Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-garner/) > [The producers felt that 24 would be good for the audience, to really get to know who these 12 and 12 are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-abdul/the-producers-felt-that-24-would-be-good-for-the-audience-to-really/) [Paula Abdul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-abdul/) > [All will concede that in order to have good neighbors, we must also be good neighbors. That applies in every field of human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/all-will-concede-that-in-order-to-have-good-neighbors-we-must-also-be/) [Harry S. 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