"It is not easy for men to rise whose qualities are thwarted by poverty"
- Juvenal
About this Quote
This quote by Juvenal speaks with the trouble of attaining success when one is born into hardship. It indicates that those who are born into hardship are typically not provided the exact same chances as those born into wealth, and therefore their qualities and skills are not offered the chance to be developed and used. This quote talks to the systemic inequality that exists in society, where those born into poverty are typically unable to access the exact same resources and chances as those born into wealth. It also speaks with the concept that hardship can be a barrier to success, as those born into hardship might not have the same access to education, resources, and networks that those born into wealth have. This quote functions as a suggestion that poverty can be a major barrier to success, which those born into hardship needs to be provided the same chances as those born into wealth in order to help them reach their full capacity.
"By desiring little, a poor man makes himself rich"
Democritus, Philosopher
"Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor"
Benjamin Franklin, Politician
"He who is not capable of enduring poverty is not capable of being free"
Victor Hugo, Author
"Ability is a poor man's wealth"
John Wooden, Coach
"It is not poverty so much as pretense that harasses a ruined man - the struggle between a proud mind and an empty purse - the keeping up of a hollow show that must soon come to an end"
Washington Irving, Writer
"The poor man wishes to conceal his poverty, and the rich man his wealth: the former fears lest he be despised, the latter lest he be plundered"
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Novelist
"It is easy enough to say that poverty is no crime. No; if it were men wouldn't be ashamed of it. It is a blunder, though, and is punished as such. A poor man is despised the whole world over"
Jerome K. Jerome, Author
"Men are beginning to realize that they are not individuals but persons in society, that man alone is weak and adrift, that he must seek strength in common action"
Dorothy Day, Activist
"Traditionally the great men of our country have sprung from poor environments; that being so, it would appear we have long suffered from a severe lack of poverty"
Gerald F. Lieberman, Writer
"It is harder for a poor man to be successful than it is for a rich man"
