The manner in which a man views his fate is more important than what his fate is.

Baron Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) German philologist, diplomat

Letter to Charlotte von Stein (6 Sep 1825) [tr. Stebbing (1849)]

Full text.

Alt. trans.:

• "It is far more important how we accept our fortune than what that fortune really may be." [tr. Couper (1824)]
• "How a person masters his fate is more important than what his fate is."

See also this earlier letter.