Men can bear all things except good days.

The proverb suggests that people often prove more resilient in hardship than in ease. Bad times impose clear demands—endure, adapt, cooperate—while “good days” can erode vigilance and self-control. Comfort may invite indulgence, arrogance, or forgetfulness of past lessons; it can also expose weaknesses such as boredom, restlessness, or the inability to use freedom well. The line functions as a moral caution: prosperity is not simply a reward but a test, and the capacity to remain temperate, grateful, and purposeful in favorable circumstances may be rarer than the capacity to suffer.