--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: O God! What a misfortune to be born! Born…" description: "\"“O God! What a misfortune to be born! Born like a mushroom, doubtless between an evening and a morning”\" — William James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/william-james-228_misfortune_o-god-what-a-misfortune-to-be-born-born_1825369.png" --- # O God! What a misfortune to be born! Born like a mushroom… ![“O God! What a misfortune to be born! Born like a mushroom, doubtless between an evening and a morning” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/william-james-228_misfortune_o-god-what-a-misfortune-to-be-born-born_1825369.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/william-james-228_misfortune_o-god-what-a-misfortune-to-be-born-born_1825369.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/william-james-228_misfortune_o-god-what-a-misfortune-to-be-born-born_1825369.png) > ““O God! What a misfortune to be born! Born like a mushroom, doubtless between an evening and a morning”” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Existential lament about the brevity and randomness of life, likening birth to a fleeting mushroom. **In simple terms:** Life is brief and uncertain. Key Takeaway Embrace each moment fully. Themes existentialism philosophy life death mortality Mood melancholic reflective Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - grief counseling - philosophical reflection - creative writing Key Concepts nihilism absurdity human condition Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning in a brief existence? - What rituals give you a sense of continuity? A Different Perspective Life’s fleeting nature can inspire nihilism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Misfortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortune/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) ## Related quotes > [The misfortune to be born when I was, where I was. That was a piece of bad luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-prawer-jhabvala/the-misfortune-to-be-born-when-i-was-where-i-was-that-was-a-piece-of/) [Ruth Prawer Jhabvala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-prawer-jhabvala/) > [I had the misfortune of being born in a horrendous situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-h-baer/i-had-the-misfortune-of-being-born-in-a-horrendous-situation/) [Ralph H. Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-h-baer/) > [Ah! I shall repeat it endlessly, the only misfortune is to be born!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-anne-de-vichy-chamrond-marquise-du-deffand/ah-i-shall-repeat-it-endlessly-the-only-misfortune-is-to-be-born/) [Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-anne-de-vichy-chamrond-marquise-du-deffand/) > [“It would be ridiculous to hold your breath and blame others for your inability to breathe. In the same sense, it is ridiculous to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/it-would-be-ridiculous-to-hold-your-breath-and-blame-others-for-your/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [“What then are we afraid of? Can we have too much of God? Is it a misfortune to be freed from the heavy yoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/what-then-are-we-afraid-of-can-we-have-too-much-of-god-is-it-a/) [François Fénelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [“I understand that some people find God after misfortune, although this seems to me even more ridiculous than finding Him in good times. 'God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/i-understand-that-some-people-find-god-after-misfortune-although-this/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [“In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/in-the-land-of-ingary-where-such-things-as-seven-league-boots-and/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [“Burton’s misfortune was to be born where and when he was, in a city of scars and vice, in an age when the division…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/burton-s-misfortune-was-to-be-born-where-and-when-he-was-in-a-city-of/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [Insecurity cannot be avoided specially when you are born to be like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/no-voice/insecurity-cannot-be-avoided-specially-when-you-are-born-to-be-like/) NO VOICE > [Not everyone in the world is alike. And some of us are a lot more different than others. Some of us were born like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-c-hunter/not-everyone-in-the-world-is-alike-and-some-of-us-are-a-lot-more/) [C.C. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-c-hunter/) > [Oh! why was I born with a different face? why was I not born like the rest of my race? when I look,each one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/oh-why-was-i-born-with-a-different-face-why-was-i-not-born-like-the/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“Yes, faith is like being born again. But it is also not like being born again. Unlike the newborn infant, the new Christian has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addie-zierman/yes-faith-is-like-being-born-again-but-it-is-also-not-like-being-born/) [Addie Zierman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addie-zierman/) > [If I was born again, I would like to be Pep Guardiola. And I say that only because I wouldn't dare to say that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-laporta/if-i-was-born-again-i-would-like-to-be-pep-guardiola-and-i-say-that/) [Joan Laporta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-laporta/) > [“Like dew I was born Like dew I vanish ..and all that I have ever done Is but a dream Within a dream”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clavell/like-dew-i-was-born-like-dew-i-vanish-and-all-that-i-have-ever-done/) [James Clavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clavell/) > [Haters are haters because they where born like that and they are never going and that is what make us famous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/haters-are-haters-because-they-where-born-like-that-and-they-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Misfortune quotes > [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/) > [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/) > [Being single was never my misfortune. It's my choice and my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jomari-consuelo/being-single-was-never-my-misfortune-it-s-my-choice-and-my-decision/) [Jomari Consuelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jomari-consuelo/) > [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/) > [“Modern man’s misfortune lies not in having to live a mediocre life, but in believing that he could live one that is not mediocre.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/modern-man-s-misfortune-lies-not-in-having-to-live-a-mediocre-life/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [\[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/) > [“When the tide of misfortune moves over you, even jelly will break your teeth     —Persian Proverb”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-fallon/when-the-tide-of-misfortune-moves-over-you-even-jelly-will-break-your/) [Jennifer Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-fallon/) > [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/) > [“The swathe of misfortune is a twisted repellent cloth, one we turn our nose at, as we mutter, no thanks. But is hardship ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gail-burns/the-swathe-of-misfortune-is-a-twisted-repellent-cloth-one-we-turn-our/) Nancy-Gail Burns > [... 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/) > [“…young people without arms and legs. They’re the ones who had the fortune or perhaps the misfortune to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zlata-filipovi/young-people-without-arms-and-legs-they-re-the-ones-who-had-the/) [Zlata Filipović](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zlata-filipovi/) [Browse all 508 Misfortune quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortune/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“O God! What a misfortune to be born! 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