Be pitiful, for every man is fighting a hard battle.

The line urges compassion by reminding us that suffering is often hidden. If every person is engaged in a “hard battle,” then harsh judgments and casual cruelty become morally indefensible; we should default to patience, gentleness, and mercy because we cannot see the private burdens others carry. The phrasing also reframes kindness as a practical ethic rather than sentimentality: empathy is warranted not because people are flawless, but because struggle is universal. In modern terms, it anticipates the idea that mental, emotional, and social hardships are frequently invisible, so humane conduct should be the baseline in everyday encounters.