--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If all our misfortunes were laid in one…" description: "\"“If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence every one must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/socrates-405_misfortunes_if-all-our-misfortunes-were-laid-in-one_1999661.jpg" --- # If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap… ![“If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence every one must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart.” quote by Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/socrates-405_misfortunes_if-all-our-misfortunes-were-laid-in-one_1999661.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/socrates-405_misfortunes_if-all-our-misfortunes-were-laid-in-one_1999661.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/socrates-405_misfortunes_if-all-our-misfortunes-were-laid-in-one_1999661.jpg) > ““If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence every one must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart.”” [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If misfortunes were shared equally, people would prefer to keep their own burdens and leave, highlighting self‑interest and avoidance of collective suffering. **In simple terms:** People would rather keep their own problems than share equally. Key Takeaway Consider fairness and collective responsibility. Themes ethics justice self‑interest community philosophy Mood thoughtful serious inquisitive Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - resource allocation - public policy - group projects - conflict resolution Key Concepts fair division social contract human nature Questions to Reflect On - How does shared hardship affect cooperation? - Can fairness be achieved without resentment? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex moral motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common Heap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-heap-3511174/) [Equal Portion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal-portion-3511173/) [Misfortunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortunes/) [Misfortunes Laid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortunes-laid-3511175/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Contented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-contented-871358/) [Portion People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portion-people-2141816/) ## Related quotes > [..the LORD's own portion was his people...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-lord-s-own-portion-was-his-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Moderation in people who are contented comes from that calm that good fortune lends to their spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/moderation-in-people-who-are-contented-comes-from-that-calm-that-good/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“Thus play I in one person many people/ And none contented”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thus-play-i-in-one-person-many-people-and-none-contented/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Whom do I call educated? First, those who manage well the circumstances they encounter day by day. Next, those who are decent and honorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/whom-do-i-call-educated-first-those-who-manage-well-the-circumstances/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If all the misfortunes of mankind were cast into a public stack in order to be equally distributed among the whole species, those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-all-the-misfortunes-of-mankind-were-cast-into-a-public-stack-in/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too scornful in misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/remember-no-human-condition-is-ever-permanent-then-you-will-not-be/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [\[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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Socrates > [By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/by-all-means-marry-if-you-get-a-good-wife-you-ll-be-happy-if-you-get/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Falling down is not a failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/falling-down-is-not-a-failure-failure-comes-when-you-stay-where-you/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Do not go through life like leaf blown from here to there believing whatever you are told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/do-not-go-through-life-like-leaf-blown-from-here-to-there-believing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If the whole world depends on today's youth, I can't see the world lasting another 100 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-the-whole-world-depends-on-today-s-youth-i-can-t-see-the-world/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“I only know, I know nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-only-know-i-know-nothing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-cannot-teach-anybody-anything-i-can-only-make-them-think/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Marry a good woman, and be happy the rest of your life. Or, marry a bad, and become a good philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/marry-a-good-woman-and-be-happy-the-rest-of-your-life-or-marry-a-bad/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“For the fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretense of knowing the unknown; and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/for-the-fear-of-death-is-indeed-the-pretense-of-wisdom-and-not-real/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [There is no difference between knowledge and temperance; for he who knows what is good and embraces it, who knows what is bad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/there-is-no-difference-between-knowledge-and-temperance-for-he-who/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Besides, it is a shame to let yourself grow old through neglect before seeing how you can develop the maximum beauty and strength of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/besides-it-is-a-shame-to-let-yourself-grow-old-through-neglect-before/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, which is a divine gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-greatest-blessing-granted-to-mankind-come-by-way-of-madness-which/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I desire only to know the truth, and to live as well as I can...And, to the utmost of my power, I exhort all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-desire-only-to-know-the-truth-and-to-live-as-well-as-i-can-and-to/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [So you would rather suffer an injustice than do an injustice?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/so-you-would-rather-suffer-an-injustice-than-do-an-injustice/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The end of life is to be like unto God; and the soul following God, will be like unto Him; He being the beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-end-of-life-is-to-be-like-unto-god-and-the-soul-following-god/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) [Explore all 579 Socrates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## 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": "“If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence every one must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Socrates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-all-our-misfortunes-were-laid-in-one-common-heap-whence-every-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Misfortunes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-all-our-misfortunes-were-laid-in-one-common-heap-whence-every-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/socrates-405_misfortunes_if-all-our-misfortunes-were-laid-in-one_1999661.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/socrates-405_misfortunes_if-all-our-misfortunes-were-laid-in-one_1999661.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/socrates-405_misfortunes_if-all-our-misfortunes-were-laid-in-one_1999661.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence every one must take an equal portion, most…” — Socrates", "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": "Socrates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If all our misfortunes were laid...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-all-our-misfortunes-were-laid-in-one-common-heap-whence-every-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-all-our-misfortunes-were-laid-in-one-common-heap-whence-every-one/#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 } } ] } ```