The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but rather what they miss.

Carlyle’s aphorism shifts the idea of “tragedy” away from visible pain toward invisible loss: the unlived possibilities, neglected duties, missed opportunities for moral or spiritual growth, and the failure to recognize what matters while it is still attainable. Suffering is concrete and often elicits sympathy, but “what they miss” can be self-inflicted, unnoticed, or only understood in retrospect—making it a subtler, more pervasive form of human ruin. The line reflects Carlyle’s broader moral seriousness: life’s gravest defeats are not merely external blows but the inner forfeiture of purpose, insight, and character that could have been realized.