--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no such thing as good or bad…" description: "\"“There is no such thing as good or bad fortune for the individual; we live in common.”\" — Seneca" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/seneca-956_bad-fortune_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-fo_3097563.jpg" --- # There is no such thing as good or bad fortune for the… ![“There is no such thing as good or bad fortune for the individual; we live in common.” quote by Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/seneca-956_bad-fortune_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-fo_3097563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/seneca-956_bad-fortune_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-fo_3097563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/seneca-956_bad-fortune_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-fo_3097563.jpg) > ““There is no such thing as good or bad fortune for the individual; we live in common.”” [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fortune is neutral; our perception shapes it, and we share a common humanity. **In simple terms:** Fortune is neutral; we share humanity. Key Takeaway Recognize shared fate, stay indifferent to luck. Themes stoicism perspective humanity Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal setbacks - social interactions - public policy - community building Key Concepts determinism shared experience Questions to Reflect On - How does your view of fortune affect your reactions? - Can shared humanity reduce envy? A Different Perspective May overlook personal agency in changing circumstances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-fortune/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Fortune Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune-individual-5353666/) [Live Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-common-882465/) [Thing Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-good/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [“It Is Better to Apply Your Common Sense And Get to The Uncommon Place Than to Live Among the Common Men!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/it-is-better-to-apply-your-common-sense-and-get-to-the-uncommon-place/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [The constitution is for us all to live together, a common life, we need each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-constitution-is-for-us-all-to-live-together-a-common-life-we-need/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But remember, child, we may all have our own story and destiny, and sometimes our seemingly bad fortune, but we're all part of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/but-remember-child-we-may-all-have-our-own-story-and-destiny-and/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [Granny knew all about bad fortune-telling. It was harder than the real thing. You needed a good imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/granny-knew-all-about-bad-fortune-telling-it-was-harder-than-the-real/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Hurry up!” everyone in the room seemed to shriek at the same time. It didn’t matter to us that all over Pittsburgh, in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-beard/hurry-up-everyone-in-the-room-seemed-to-shriek-at-the-same-time-it/) [Philip Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-beard/) > [You cannot tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/you-cannot-tell-whether-a-person-is-good-or-bad-by-his-vicissitudes/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [“You can't tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate. Good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/you-can-t-tell-whether-a-person-is-good-or-bad-by-his-vicissitudes-in/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [“He who has never hoped can never despair. Caesar, in good or bad fortune, looks his fate in the face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/he-who-has-never-hoped-can-never-despair-caesar-in-good-or-bad/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I went to New York to train as a chef, and I had the good or bad fortune, depending on how you describe it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimbal-musk/i-went-to-new-york-to-train-as-a-chef-and-i-had-the-good-or-bad/) [Kimbal Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimbal-musk/) > [“Why had she imagined he was attractive? 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There is TIME for EVERYTHING including their marriages too... Because I have always believed, and I still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-adu-boafo-jnr/single-mothers-will-not-be-single-forever-there-is-time-for/) [Nana Adu-Boafo Jnr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-adu-boafo-jnr/) > [All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck - who keeps right on going -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/all-of-us-have-bad-luck-and-good-luck-the-man-who-persists-through/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Never look at other people's bad fortune,' my mother said. 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When I say "can," I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/the-wise-man-is-self-sufficient-that-he-can-do-without-friends-not/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“This, I say, is the highest duty and the highest proof of wisdom, – that deed and word should be in accord, that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/this-i-say-is-the-highest-duty-and-the-highest-proof-of-wisdom-that/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“But both courses are to be avoided; you should not copy the bad simply because they are many, nor should you hate the many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/but-both-courses-are-to-be-avoided-you-should-not-copy-the-bad-simply/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“Virtue alone affords everlasting and peace-giving joy; even if some obstacle arise, it is but like an intervening cloud, which floats beneath the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/virtue-alone-affords-everlasting-and-peace-giving-joy-even-if-some/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“I’ve come across people who say that there is a sort of inborn restlessness in the human spirit and an urge to change one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/i-ve-come-across-people-who-say-that-there-is-a-sort-of-inborn/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can. Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/withdraw-into-yourself-as-far-as-you-can-associate-with-those-who/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [Economy is too late at the bottom of the purse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/economy-is-too-late-at-the-bottom-of-the-purse/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“On Epicurus; He says: "Contended poverty is an honourable estate." Indeed, if it is contented, it is not poverty at all. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/on-epicurus-he-says-contended-poverty-is-an-honourable-estate-indeed/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“...certain people have good, ordinary blood and others have an animated, lively sort of blood that comes to the face quickly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/certain-people-have-good-ordinary-blood-and-others-have-an-animated/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“we perish because we follow other men's examples: we should be cured of this if we were to disengage ourselves from the herd;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/we-perish-because-we-follow-other-men-s-examples-we-should-be-cured/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“they Whatever can make life truly happy is absolutely good in its own right because it cannot be warped into evil From whence then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/they-whatever-can-make-life-truly-happy-is-absolutely-good-in-its-own/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“And when the soul has yielded to pleasure, its functions and actions grow weak, and any undertaking comes from a nerveless and unsteady source.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/and-when-the-soul-has-yielded-to-pleasure-its-functions-and-actions/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) [Explore all 286 Seneca quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) ## More Bad fortune quotes > [“Hurry up!” everyone in the room seemed to shriek at the same time. It didn’t matter to us that all over Pittsburgh, in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-beard/hurry-up-everyone-in-the-room-seemed-to-shriek-at-the-same-time-it/) [Philip Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-beard/) > [All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck - who keeps right on going -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/all-of-us-have-bad-luck-and-good-luck-the-man-who-persists-through/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [But remember, child, we may all have our own story and destiny, and sometimes our seemingly bad fortune, but we're all part of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/but-remember-child-we-may-all-have-our-own-story-and-destiny-and/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [Granny knew all about bad fortune-telling. It was harder than the real thing. You needed a good imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/granny-knew-all-about-bad-fortune-telling-it-was-harder-than-the-real/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Single Mothers will NOT be single forever. There is TIME for EVERYTHING including their marriages too... Because I have always believed, and I still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-adu-boafo-jnr/single-mothers-will-not-be-single-forever-there-is-time-for/) [Nana Adu-Boafo Jnr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-adu-boafo-jnr/) > [“Life, Rose well knew, could throw some hard punches at you, but nothing hurt as much as losing a child, or seeing one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-donnelly/life-rose-well-knew-could-throw-some-hard-punches-at-you-but-nothing/) [Jennifer Donnelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-donnelly/) > [The good or the bad fortune of men depends not less upon their own dispositions than upon fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-good-or-the-bad-fortune-of-men-depends-not-less-upon-their-own/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“Why had she imagined he was attractive? He was absolutely the biggest, most complete and utter jackass she'd ever had the bad fortune to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-dodd/why-had-she-imagined-he-was-attractive-he-was-absolutely-the-biggest/) [Christina Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-dodd/) > [I went to New York to train as a chef, and I had the good or bad fortune, depending on how you describe it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimbal-musk/i-went-to-new-york-to-train-as-a-chef-and-i-had-the-good-or-bad/) [Kimbal Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimbal-musk/) > [“He who has never hoped can never despair. Caesar, in good or bad fortune, looks his fate in the face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/he-who-has-never-hoped-can-never-despair-caesar-in-good-or-bad/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“You can't tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate. Good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/you-can-t-tell-whether-a-person-is-good-or-bad-by-his-vicissitudes-in/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [You cannot tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/you-cannot-tell-whether-a-person-is-good-or-bad-by-his-vicissitudes/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [Never look at other people's bad fortune,' my mother said. 'If you do, it will come back to find you instead of its rightful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/never-look-at-other-people-s-bad-fortune-my-mother-said-if-you-do-it/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [When the world was half a thousand years younger all events had much sharper outlines than now. The distance between sadness and joy, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/when-the-world-was-half-a-thousand-years-younger-all-events-had-much/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [“When bad fortune occurs, the unresourceful, unimaginative man looks about him to attach the blame to someone else; the resolute accepts misfortune and endeavors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey/when-bad-fortune-occurs-the-unresourceful-unimaginative-man-looks/) [Anne McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mccaffrey/) [Browse all 39 Bad fortune quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-fortune/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is no such thing as good or bad fortune for the individual; we live in common.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seneca" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-fortune-for-the-individual-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad fortune" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-fortune-for-the-individual-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/seneca-956_bad-fortune_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-fo_3097563.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/seneca-956_bad-fortune_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-fo_3097563.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/seneca-956_bad-fortune_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-fo_3097563.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no such thing as good or bad fortune for the individual; we live in common.” — Seneca", "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": "Seneca", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There is no such thing as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-fortune-for-the-individual-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-or-bad-fortune-for-the-individual-we/#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 } } ] } ```