Every MAN must suffer his afflictions

Meaning & Analysis

Every individual is destined to experience and endure their own unique hardships and sorrows as an unavoidable part of life.

Insights

Inevitability of Suffering

The proverb asserts that suffering is an intrinsic and inescapable element of the human experience, a universal constant that transcends social status, wealth, or power.

The Burden of Individuality

It highlights the intensely personal nature of adversity. Each person's trials are their own to bear, implying a journey that requires individual strength, fortitude, and personal responsibility.

A Universal Equalizer

The proverb functions as a great equalizer. In the face of suffering, all human beings are fundamentally the same, united by the shared experience of enduring pain and hardship.

Theological and Philosophical Context

This proverb resonates with Stoic philosophy and various religious doctrines, particularly the Christian view suggested by the cross-reference 'Afflictions are sent us by God for our good'. This framework reframes suffering not as a meaningless curse but as a purposeful trial for spiritual growth or moral testing.

Psychological Realism

The proverb serves as a psychological anchor, promoting a form of radical acceptance. By framing affliction as a universal and unavoidable part of the human condition, it can mitigate feelings of personal persecution or injustice when hardship arises, fostering resilience.

Individual vs. Universal Experience

While emphasizing the personal nature of suffering ('his afflictions'), the proverb paradoxically creates a basis for communal empathy. The shared understanding that everyone bears a private burden fosters a sense of common humanity and can encourage mutual compassion.

Rhetorical Devices

Universal Declaration

The use of the universal quantifier 'Every MAN' transforms a personal observation into an absolute, inescapable law of human existence.

Imperative Mood

The modal verb 'must' conveys a sense of unavoidable destiny or obligation, framing suffering not as a possibility but as a certainty.

Somber Tone

The proverb's direct, unadorned language and somber vocabulary ('suffer', 'afflictions') create a tone of stark finality and gravitas.

sufferinginevitabilityresiliencestoicismhumanityfate

Analyzed with gemini-2.5-pro on August 20, 2025

Transcription

Quotations

— 1616, WITHALS, p. 546.

Cross References

A53 Afflictions are sent us by God for our good.

Related Proverbs

H166 Better the HARM I know than that I know not 96.1%M563 Mind other MEN but most yourself 95.5%M713 Everyone is MASTER and servant 95.4%M98 Every ill MAN has his ill day 95.2%M595 When all MEN have what belongs to them it cannot be much 95.1%W598 WOE to him that is alone 95.1%M124 Every MAN is best known to himself 95.0%M484 A poor MAN's cow dies, a rich man's child 95.0%G387 The GOWN is his that wears it and the world his that enjoys it 94.8%N331 They that have NOTHING need fear to lose nothing 94.8%H512 He is wise that when he is well can HOLD him so 94.8%M336 No MAN knows so well what wealth is as he that has been poor 94.8%M1008 MISERY shows the man what he is 94.8%H194 Make HASTE when you are purchasing a field but when you are to marry a wife be slow 94.7%S21 SADNESS and gladness succeed each other 94.7%M175 He that kills a MAN when he is drunk shall be hanged when he is sober 94.7%W904 The WORLD still he keeps at his staff's end that needs not to borrow and never will lend 94.7%D200 He that demands misses not unless his DEMANDS be foolish 94.6%P527 POVERTY is the mother of all arts 94.5%B122 Sow BEANS in the mud and they'll grow like wood 94.5%

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