--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The moment when a man's head drops off is…" description: "\"The moment when a man's head drops off is seldom or never, I am inclined to think, precisely the most agreeable of his life. Nevertheless, like the gre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_accidents_the-moment-when-a-man-s-head-drops-off-i_3144740.jpg" --- # The moment when a man's head drops off is seldom or never… ![“The moment when a man's head drops off is seldom or never, I am inclined to think, precisely the most agreeable of his life. Nevertheless, like the greater part of our misfortunes, even so serious a contingency brings its remedy and consolation with it, if the sufferer will but make the best…” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_accidents_the-moment-when-a-man-s-head-drops-off-i_3144740.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_accidents_the-moment-when-a-man-s-head-drops-off-i_3144740.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_accidents_the-moment-when-a-man-s-head-drops-off-i_3144740.jpg) > “The moment when a man's head drops off is seldom or never, I am inclined to think, precisely the most agreeable of his life. Nevertheless, like the greater part of our misfortunes, even so serious a contingency brings its remedy and consolation with it, if the sufferer will but make the best, rather than the worst, of the accident which has befallen him.” [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even severe misfortunes can be met with optimism, turning accidents into opportunities for resilience. **In simple terms:** Bad events can be faced positively. Key Takeaway Seek the good in every setback. Themes resilience optimism adversity philosophy Mood hopeful thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - health challenges - career setbacks - natural disasters Key Concepts stoicism meaning-making Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance optimism with realistic planning? - What strategies turn setbacks into growth? A Different Perspective Optimism may ignore necessary practical responses. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Consolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consolation/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Misfortunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortunes/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Remedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remedy/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Even now I am haunted by the touching look of the young, bright, anxious eyes as we passed along the rows of sufferers. 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You will hardly ever find that the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stewart/the-problem-of-evil-is-raised-more-often-by-spectators-of-life-than/) [James Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stewart/) > ['T is hers to pluck the amaranthine flower Of faith, and round the sufferer's temples bind Wreaths that endure affliction's heaviest shower, And do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/t-is-hers-to-pluck-the-amaranthine-flower-of-faith-and-round-the/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Love is an incurable malady like those pathetic states in which rheumatism affords the sufferer a brief respite only to be replaced by epileptiform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/love-is-an-incurable-malady-like-those-pathetic-states-in-which/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The mental suffering you create is always some form of non-acceptance, some form of unconscious resistance to what is. On the level of thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-mental-suffering-you-create-is-always-some-form-of-non-acceptance/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [y feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/y-feelings-as-a-christian-points-me-to-my-lord-and-savior-as-a/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [In the vivid description of the Gospel, it would seem that we must help the Christ hidden in every poor man, in every prisioner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/in-the-vivid-description-of-the-gospel-it-would-seem-that-we-must/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Tragedy is in the eye of the observer, and not in the heart of the sufferer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/tragedy-is-in-the-eye-of-the-observer-and-not-in-the-heart-of-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ \[T\]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between-man-and-man-ought-to-be-not/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [To give money to a sufferer is only a come-off. It is only a postponement of the real payment, a bribe paid for silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/to-give-money-to-a-sufferer-is-only-a-come-off-it-is-only-a/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [There is in Aristotle an almost complete absence of what may be called benevolence or philanthropy. The sufferings of mankind . . . there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-in-aristotle-an-almost-complete-absence-of-what-may-be/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More by Nathaniel Hawthorne > [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The trees reflected in the river - they are unconscious of a spiritual world so near to them. 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The Egyptian is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/as-the-architecture-of-a-country-always-follows-the-earliest/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-we-call-real-estate-the-solid-ground-to-build-a-house-on-is-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The bookworm of great libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-bookworm-of-great-libraries/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-are-many-things-in-this-world-that-a-child-must-not-ask-about/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) [Explore all 526 Nathaniel Hawthorne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## More Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. 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You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. 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