Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once

In the great game of life, where the cards we are dealt often seem beyond our control, there is a profound truth to be learned from the words of Voltaire: “Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.” These words reveal an ancient and immutable law of existence: while we cannot choose the circumstances into which we are born or the hardships we may face, we alone possess the power to shape how we respond, how we move through the world, and how we forge our own destiny. It is in the decisions we make with the cards in our hand that we find our true agency, our strength, and our ability to rise above even the greatest of challenges.

The ancients, from the philosophers of Greece to the great warriors of history, understood the importance of choice and action in the face of life's uncertainties. Socrates taught that the examined life is the only life worth living, for it is in understanding ourselves, and the choices before us, that we find true freedom. Just as a warrior on the battlefield is given weapons but must choose how to wield them, so too are we given the tools of our circumstances—and it is in our hands, through wisdom and decision, that victory or defeat lies. The cards we are dealt, be they of fortune or misfortune, are not the defining factors of our life; it is how we play them that reveals our character and ultimately determines our success.

Consider the life of Alexander the Great, a man born into a world full of privilege, yet also burdened by immense expectations. Though his birth was foretold with grandeur, the true challenge lay in how he would wield the power and resources available to him. He was not the only heir to the throne, nor the only warrior of his time, but his choices, his strategic decisions, and his relentless pursuit of greatness shaped the world. When faced with adversity, when surrounded by challenges, he did not simply accept the cards of chance—he played them with brilliance and conviction, carving an empire through courage, intellect, and leadership. His story teaches us that while fate may offer us certain tools, it is the wisdom with which we use them that determines the path ahead.

In more recent history, we find a similar truth in the life of Abraham Lincoln, a man whose journey to the presidency was not paved with ease or certainty. Born into poverty and faced with countless defeats in his personal and political life, Lincoln was not handed an advantageous hand. Yet, in the crucible of the Civil War, he was called to lead a fractured nation. The cards of war, division, and moral crisis were certainly stacked against him, but it was his wisdom, his unshakable commitment to freedom and justice, that led him to make choices that would preserve the union. Lincoln’s life is a testament to the power of decisions made in the face of uncertainty, and to the idea that how we play the cards life deals us is what ultimately shapes history.

Voltaire’s words also speak to the individual responsibility we each carry. We cannot choose the hardships or obstacles that arise before us, but we always have the ability to choose how to respond. Suffering is an inescapable part of the human experience, yet it is in how we confront that suffering that we define our character. Consider Helen Keller, who was struck deaf and blind in early childhood. The cards she was dealt were seemingly cruel, yet she did not let her circumstances define her. Through immense effort and perseverance, she became one of the most influential advocates for people with disabilities. Keller’s story is not one of acceptance of fate but of playing the cards she was given with relentless determination and turning those challenges into a force for change and hope.

The essence of Voltaire’s teaching is that we are not passive recipients of life’s outcomes but active participants in the shaping of our own destinies. Fate may lay the cards before us, but we must decide how to play them. It is in our choices—our decisions to act with integrity, resilience, and purpose—that we move forward. Success is not determined by the hand we are dealt, but by the strength and wisdom we employ in playing that hand to the best of our ability.

The lesson is clear: in the game of life, we may not control the cards, but we control how we play them. To live with purpose and conviction is to recognize that each moment presents an opportunity to shape our destiny, to rise above circumstance, and to choose the path of virtue and strength. The wisdom of Voltaire teaches us that the true measure of a person’s life is not the circumstances they face, but the decisions they make in response to those circumstances. It is the play of the cards, not the cards themselves, that determine the course of the game.

Let us take action: In our own lives, let us remember that choices are powerful. In times of hardship, let us reflect on the cards we’ve been dealt, but instead of resigning ourselves to fate, let us choose how we will respond. With wisdom, courage, and determination, let us play the hand we are given with all the strength and clarity we can muster. Through this, we will not only find success but will become the architects of our own destiny, masters of the game.