--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All that philosophy can teach is to be…" description: "\"All that philosophy can teach is to be stubborn or sullen under misfortunes.\" — Oliver Goldsmith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/oliver-goldsmith-772_misfortunes_all-that-philosophy-can-teach-is-to-be-s_2379427.png" --- # All that philosophy can teach is to be stubborn or sullen… ![“All that philosophy can teach is to be stubborn or sullen under misfortunes.” quote by Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/oliver-goldsmith-772_misfortunes_all-that-philosophy-can-teach-is-to-be-s_2379427.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/oliver-goldsmith-772_misfortunes_all-that-philosophy-can-teach-is-to-be-s_2379427.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/oliver-goldsmith-772_misfortunes_all-that-philosophy-can-teach-is-to-be-s_2379427.png) > “All that philosophy can teach is to be stubborn or sullen under misfortunes.” [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Philosophy often offers abstract comfort but may not provide practical resilience during hardship. **In simple terms:** Ideas can be stubborn or gloomy in trouble. Key Takeaway Seek practical coping strategies. Themes philosophy hardship resilience Mood thoughtful practical Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - personal crises - health challenges - financial loss - relationship strain Key Concepts stoicism existentialism practical wisdom Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn philosophical insight into concrete action? - What daily habits build resilience? A Different Perspective Abstract thinking can ignore actionable steps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Misfortunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortunes/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-teach-582475/) [Stubborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stubborn/) [Stubborn Sullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stubborn-sullen-5888150/) [Sullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sullen/) [Sullen Misfortunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sullen-misfortunes-5888151/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Teach Stubborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach-stubborn-5888152/) ## Related quotes > [To me personally the only function of philosophy is to teach us to take life more lightly and gayly than the average businessman does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/to-me-personally-the-only-function-of-philosophy-is-to-teach-us-to/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [“The business of philosophy is to teach man to live in uncertainty... not to reassure him, but to upset him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/the-business-of-philosophy-is-to-teach-man-to-live-in-uncertainty-not/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [My idea of philosophy is that if it is not relevant to human problems, if it does not tell us how we can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/my-idea-of-philosophy-is-that-if-it-is-not-relevant-to-human-problems/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [Before philosophy can teach by Experience, the Philosophy has to be in readiness, the Experience must be gathered and intelligibly recorded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/before-philosophy-can-teach-by-experience-the-philosophy-has-to-be-in/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [“Perhaps one of the most important lessons of philosophy is to teach us how to live with the questions unanswered , rather than settle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-shapiro/perhaps-one-of-the-most-important-lessons-of-philosophy-is-to-teach/) [Stewart Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-shapiro/) > [God, deliver me from sullen saints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/god-deliver-me-from-sullen-saints/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [“There was a lot of Sullen Malarkey on John's part.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/there-was-a-lot-of-sullen-malarkey-on-john-s-part/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [There is a time of life somewhere between the sullen fugues of adolescence and the retrenchments of middle age when human nature becomes so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/there-is-a-time-of-life-somewhere-between-the-sullen-fugues-of/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [When I am feeling depressed and anxious sullen all you have to do is take off your clothes and all is wiped away revealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/when-i-am-feeling-depressed-and-anxious-sullen-all-you-have-to-do-is/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [I desire Virtue, though I love her not- I have no faith in her when she is got: I fear that she will bind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-wickham/i-desire-virtue-though-i-love-her-not-i-have-no-faith-in-her-when-she/) [Anna Wickham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-wickham/) > [ What would it mean in practice to eliminate all the 'negative people' from one's life \[as demanded by motivational speaker J.P. Maroney\]? It might… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/what-would-it-mean-in-practice-to-eliminate-all-the-negative-people/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall, By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/and-by-his-smile-i-knew-that-sullen-hall-by-his-dead-smile-i-knew-we/) [Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/) > [No person who has not spent a period of his life in those 'stark and sullen solitudes that sentinel the Pole' will understand fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-shackleton/no-person-who-has-not-spent-a-period-of-his-life-in-those-stark-and/) [Ernest Shackleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-shackleton/) > [Britannia's shame! There took her gloomy flight, On wing impetuous, a black sullen soul . Less base the fear of death than fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/britannia-s-shame-there-took-her-gloomy-flight-on-wing-impetuous-a/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) ## More by Oliver Goldsmith > [The fortunate circumstances of our lives are generally found, at last, to be of our own producing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-fortunate-circumstances-of-our-lives-are-generally-found-at-last/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [How happy he who crowns in shades like these, A youth of labour with an age of ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/how-happy-he-who-crowns-in-shades-like-these-a-youth-of-labour-with/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [One man is born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and the other with a wooden ladle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/one-man-is-born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth-and-the-other-with-a/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [He cast off his friends as a huntsman his pack, For he knew when he pleas'd he could whistle them back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/he-cast-off-his-friends-as-a-huntsman-his-pack-for-he-knew-when-he/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Even children follow'd with endearing wile, And pluck'd his gown, to share the good man's smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/even-children-follow-d-with-endearing-wile-and-pluck-d-his-gown-to/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [The premises being thus settled, I proceed to observe that the concatenation of self-existence, proceeding in a reciprocal duplicate ratio, naturally produces a problematical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-premises-being-thus-settled-i-proceed-to-observe-that-the/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway, and fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/truth-from-his-lips-prevailed-with-double-sway-and-fools-who-came-to/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Politics resemble religion; attempting to divest either of ceremony is the most certain mode of bringing either into contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/politics-resemble-religion-attempting-to-divest-either-of-ceremony-is/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not-owe-every-pleasure-and/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Every acknowledgment of gratitude is a circumstance of humiliation; and some are found to submit to frequent mortifications of this kind, proclaiming what obligations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/every-acknowledgment-of-gratitude-is-a-circumstance-of-humiliation/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [ \[T\]here are depths of thousands of miles which are hidden from our inquiry. The only tidings we have from those unfathomable regions are by… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/t-here-are-depths-of-thousands-of-miles-which-are-hidden-from-our/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Like the bee, we should make our industry our amusement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/like-the-bee-we-should-make-our-industry-our-amusement/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Age, that lessens the enjoyment of life, increases our desire of living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/age-that-lessens-the-enjoyment-of-life-increases-our-desire-of-living/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Thus let me hold thee to my heart, And every care resign: And we shall never, never part, My life-my all that's mine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/thus-let-me-hold-thee-to-my-heart-and-every-care-resign-and-we-shall/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Here lies David Garrick, describe me who can, An abridgment of all that was pleasant in man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/here-lies-david-garrick-describe-me-who-can-an-abridgment-of-all-that/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) [Explore all 375 Oliver Goldsmith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) ## More Misfortunes quotes > [What Cicero said of men-that they are like wines, age souring the bad, and bettering the good-we can say of misfortune, that it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/what-cicero-said-of-men-that-they-are-like-wines-age-souring-the-bad/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [My mind shrank from the menace sweeping down on us, as children's do from belief in death and misfortune, vainly clinging to the fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-pankhurst/my-mind-shrank-from-the-menace-sweeping-down-on-us-as-children-s-do/) [Sylvia Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-pankhurst/) > [You see misery, you see misfortune, you see pain, you see suffering. It's all part of the fatalistic way of looking at life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/you-see-misery-you-see-misfortune-you-see-pain-you-see-suffering-it-s/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [If we cannot meet our everyday surroundings with equanimity and pleasure and grow each day in some useful direction, then... life is on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/if-we-cannot-meet-our-everyday-surroundings-with-equanimity-and/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Many things would be changed for Americans if they would only admit that there is ill-luck in this world and that misfortune is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/many-things-would-be-changed-for-americans-if-they-would-only-admit/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [For there is hardly a state or nation in existence which has not once had the misfortune, even if it was in the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/for-there-is-hardly-a-state-or-nation-in-existence-which-has-not-once/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Misfortune is the test of a person's merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/misfortune-is-the-test-of-a-person-s-merit/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [When the sun is shining, think of the time it won't be, because even when you're sitting in your house with the doors shut,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/when-the-sun-is-shining-think-of-the-time-it-won-t-be-because-even/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [\[It is hard to know what is good luck and what isn't and therefore whether we should be happy or sad about it. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelig-pliskin/it-is-hard-to-know-what-is-good-luck-and-what-isn-t-and-therefore/) [Zelig Pliskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelig-pliskin/) > [It is a misfortune that necessity has induced men to accord greater license to this formidable engine, in order to obtain liberty, than can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/it-is-a-misfortune-that-necessity-has-induced-men-to-accord-greater/) [James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/) > [All men can bear a familiar, definite misfortune better than the cruel alternations of a fate which, from one moment to another, brings excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-men-can-bear-a-familiar-definite-misfortune-better-than-the-cruel/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“History is little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind." --- Edward Gibbon”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/history-is-little-more-than-the-register-of-the-crimes-follies-and/) [Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [... when something is detestable, and yet inevitable, what one must do is not merely to endure it-a hard task whatever one may do-but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-de-montherlant/when-something-is-detestable-and-yet-inevitable-what-one-must-do-is/) [Henry de Montherlant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-de-montherlant/) > [contemplating the misfortunes of others does not lighten one's own trouble but instead adds to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-g-eberhart/contemplating-the-misfortunes-of-others-does-not-lighten-one-s-own/) [Mignon G. Eberhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-g-eberhart/) [Browse all 915 Misfortunes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortunes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All that philosophy can teach is to be stubborn or sullen under misfortunes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oliver Goldsmith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/all-that-philosophy-can-teach-is-to-be-stubborn-or-sullen-under/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Misfortunes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/all-that-philosophy-can-teach-is-to-be-stubborn-or-sullen-under/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/oliver-goldsmith-772_misfortunes_all-that-philosophy-can-teach-is-to-be-s_2379427.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/oliver-goldsmith-772_misfortunes_all-that-philosophy-can-teach-is-to-be-s_2379427.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/oliver-goldsmith-772_misfortunes_all-that-philosophy-can-teach-is-to-be-s_2379427.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All that philosophy can teach is to be stubborn or sullen under misfortunes.” — Oliver Goldsmith", "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": "Oliver Goldsmith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All that philosophy can teach is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/all-that-philosophy-can-teach-is-to-be-stubborn-or-sullen-under/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/all-that-philosophy-can-teach-is-to-be-stubborn-or-sullen-under/#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 } } ] } ```