--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human beings suffer agonies, and their…" description: "\"Human beings suffer agonies, and their sad fates become legends; poets write verses about them and playwrights compose dramas, and the remembrance of p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/upton-sinclair-4341_agony_human-beings-suffer-agonies-and-their-sa_1767114.png" --- # Human beings suffer agonies, and their sad fates become… ![“Human beings suffer agonies, and their sad fates become legends; poets write verses about them and playwrights compose dramas, and the remembrance of past grief becomes a source of present pleasure - such is the strange alchemy of the spirit.” quote by Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/upton-sinclair-4341_agony_human-beings-suffer-agonies-and-their-sa_1767114.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/upton-sinclair-4341_agony_human-beings-suffer-agonies-and-their-sa_1767114.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/upton-sinclair-4341_agony_human-beings-suffer-agonies-and-their-sa_1767114.png) > “Human beings suffer agonies, and their sad fates become legends; poets write verses about them and playwrights compose dramas, and the remembrance of past grief becomes a source of present pleasure - such is the strange alchemy of the spirit.” [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human suffering becomes mythic, inspiring art that transforms past pain into present enjoyment, revealing a paradoxical joy in remembering sorrow. **In simple terms:** Suffering inspires art that makes us enjoy remembering pain. Key Takeaway Find value in how art transforms grief. Themes suffering art memory Mood thoughtful melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - therapy groups - historical analysis - cultural studies Key Concepts mythmaking psychology creative expression Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to take pleasure from past grief? - How does artistic representation change our experience of sorrow? A Different Perspective Art may romanticize pain, overlooking its harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/) [Alchemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemy/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drama/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Legends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legends/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Playwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playwright/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Remembrance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembrance/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I cannot explain how it begins, or why it happens, what strange alchemy puts such things in motion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-chance/i-cannot-explain-how-it-begins-or-why-it-happens-what-strange-alchemy/) [Megan Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-chance/) > [“Every time I look up and catch that kid's vacant eye, I suffer agonies. I tell you, Bertie, sometimes when he gives me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pg-wodehouse/every-time-i-look-up-and-catch-that-kid-s-vacant-eye-i-suffer-agonies/) [PG Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pg-wodehouse/) > [It has appeared that from the inevitable laws of our nature, some human beings must suffer from want. These are the unhappy persons who,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/it-has-appeared-that-from-the-inevitable-laws-of-our-nature-some/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [... we are most of us brought up in the notion that the highest motive for not doing a wrong is something irrespective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-are-most-of-us-brought-up-in-the-notion-that-the-highest-motive/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [All the things that human beings suffer from are how their environment treats them, and how the elements of their planet affects their mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ornette-coleman/all-the-things-that-human-beings-suffer-from-are-how-their/) [Ornette Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ornette-coleman/) > [And you grit your teeth, despising yourself for your tremulous sensitivity, and wondering how human beings can suffer their individualities to be mercilessly crushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/and-you-grit-your-teeth-despising-yourself-for-your-tremulous/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The trouble with this dog is that it has grown too close to human beings, it will suffer as they do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-trouble-with-this-dog-is-that-it-has-grown-too-close-to-human/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [ Everybody can close their eyes, picture a dream house or a perfect place \[where\] they'd like to have a picnic. But actually creating it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/everybody-can-close-their-eyes-picture-a-dream-house-or-a-perfect/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [“Introspection does not need to be a still life. It can be an active alchemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/introspection-does-not-need-to-be-a-still-life-it-can-be-an-active/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Every human being has gone through a tragedy of sorts. And the idea is that you have two paths you can take, you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jillian-michaels/every-human-being-has-gone-through-a-tragedy-of-sorts-and-the-idea-is/) [Jillian Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jillian-michaels/) > [“You must learn to bend to open windows, my friend. That is why artists and dancers are closest to God. They clench their chests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/you-must-learn-to-bend-to-open-windows-my-friend-that-is-why-artists/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“Art is Alchemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-nicolai/art-is-alchemy/) [ELLE NICOLAI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-nicolai/) > [“...the world is only the visible aspect of God. And that what alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact with the material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-is-only-the-visible-aspect-of-god-and-that-what-alchemy/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [As in the instances of alchemy, astrology, witchcraft, and other such popular creeds, political economy, has a plausible idea at the root of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/as-in-the-instances-of-alchemy-astrology-witchcraft-and-other-such/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More by Upton Sinclair > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [You don't have to be satisfied with America as you find it. You can change it. I didn't like the way I found America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/you-don-t-have-to-be-satisfied-with-america-as-you-find-it-you-can/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“A wonderful privilege it was to be thus admitted into the soul of a man of genius, to be allowed to share the ecstasies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/a-wonderful-privilege-it-was-to-be-thus-admitted-into-the-soul-of-a/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“...the souls of none of them were dead, but only sleeping; now and then they would waken, and these were cruel times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/the-souls-of-none-of-them-were-dead-but-only-sleeping-now-and-then/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“He learned that love is not all pleasure, but can be agony and heartache, martyrdom and sacrifice. He learned what the clergyman was talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/he-learned-that-love-is-not-all-pleasure-but-can-be-agony-and/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [I am sustained by a sense of the worthwhileness of what I am doing; a trust in the good faith of the process which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/i-am-sustained-by-a-sense-of-the-worthwhileness-of-what-i-am-doing-a/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“We have a flabby public opinion which would wring its hands in anguish if we took the labor leader by the scruff of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/we-have-a-flabby-public-opinion-which-would-wring-its-hands-in/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“He seemed to be growing conservative, allying himself with Göring’s friends, the great industrialists, and forgetting the promises he had made to the common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/he-seemed-to-be-growing-conservative-allying-himself-with-g-ring-s/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [The first thing brought forth by the study of any religion, ancient or modern, is that it is based upon Fear, born of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/the-first-thing-brought-forth-by-the-study-of-any-religion-ancient-or/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [American journalism is a class institution, serving the rich and spurning the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/american-journalism-is-a-class-institution-serving-the-rich-and/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“Now I ask you: could any muck-raker in a rage make up a list of titles more completely expressive of vulgarity, commercialism and general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/now-i-ask-you-could-any-muck-raker-in-a-rage-make-up-a-list-of-titles/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“In that country, rich or poor, a man was free... So America was a place of which lovers and young people dreamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/in-that-country-rich-or-poor-a-man-was-free-so-america-was-a-place-of/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“Study and think and improve your mind, and keep it clear of all this fog of hatred and propaganda”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/study-and-think-and-improve-your-mind-and-keep-it-clear-of-all-this/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [The private control of credit is the modern form of slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/the-private-control-of-credit-is-the-modern-form-of-slavery/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [“When one comes to the ultra-modern profession of advertising," responded Schliemann—"the science of persuading people to buy what they do not want—he is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/when-one-comes-to-the-ultra-modern-profession-of-advertising/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) [Explore all 112 Upton Sinclair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) ## More Agony quotes > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [“aaron would not come out aaron entered into agony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/aaron-would-not-come-out-aaron-entered-into-agony/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [As we look upon that agony and those tearful prayers, let us not only look with thankfulness; but let that kneeling Saviour teach us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/as-we-look-upon-that-agony-and-those-tearful-prayers-let-us-not-only/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Love masters agony; the soul that seemed Forsaken feels her present God again And in her Father's arms Contented dies away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keble/love-masters-agony-the-soul-that-seemed-forsaken-feels-her-present/) [John Keble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keble/) > [I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-sea-i-have-seen-blood/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“Anger was a reliable defense, but one that allowed no chance of final victory. Anger was a medicine but never a cure, briefly numbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/anger-was-a-reliable-defense-but-one-that-allowed-no-chance-of-final/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The cure is in the house, not brought by other hands from distant places, but by its own, in agony and blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-cure-is-in-the-house-not-brought-by-other-hands-from-distant/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The young man shivered. He rolled the stock themes of fantasy over in his mind: cars and stockbrokers and commuters, housewives and police, agony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-young-man-shivered-he-rolled-the-stock-themes-of-fantasy-over-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Being ill like this combines shock - this time I will die - with a pain and agony that are unfamiliar, that wrench me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/being-ill-like-this-combines-shock-this-time-i-will-die-with-a-pain/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/) [Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/) > [There’s been a problem, a problem eating away at me from the inside out. I’ve become weak, I’ve shown human compassion, and it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane/there-s-been-a-problem-a-problem-eating-away-at-me-from-the-inside/) [Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane/) > [Pay special attention to their agony so I might take some pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/pay-special-attention-to-their-agony-so-i-might-take-some-pleasure/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Die, enemies of Ra!" Sekhemet yelled. "Perish in agony!" "She's almost as annoying as you," I told Horus. "Impossible," Horus said. "No one bests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/die-enemies-of-ra-sekhemet-yelled-perish-in-agony-she-s-almost-as/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) [Browse all 813 Agony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human beings suffer agonies, and their sad fates become legends; poets write verses about them and playwrights compose dramas, and the remembrance of past grief becomes a source of present pleasure - such is the strange alchemy of the spirit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Upton Sinclair" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/human-beings-suffer-agonies-and-their-sad-fates-become-legends-poets/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agony" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/human-beings-suffer-agonies-and-their-sad-fates-become-legends-poets/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/upton-sinclair-4341_agony_human-beings-suffer-agonies-and-their-sa_1767114.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/upton-sinclair-4341_agony_human-beings-suffer-agonies-and-their-sa_1767114.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/upton-sinclair-4341_agony_human-beings-suffer-agonies-and-their-sa_1767114.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human beings suffer agonies, and their sad fates become legends; poets write verses about them and…” — Upton Sinclair", "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": "Upton Sinclair", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Human beings suffer agonies, and their...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/human-beings-suffer-agonies-and-their-sad-fates-become-legends-poets/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/human-beings-suffer-agonies-and-their-sad-fates-become-legends-poets/#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 } } ] } ```