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Misfortunes Quotes

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Misfortunes Quotes

“Better to be unborn than untaught, for ignorance is the root of all misfortune.”

IgnoranceRootsAtheistMisfortunesUnborn
Book:Wit and Wisdom of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle: Being a Treasury of Thousands of Glorious, Inspiring and Imperishable Thoughts, Views and Observations of the Three Great Greek Philosophers, Classified Under about Four Hundred Subjects for Comparative Study
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“Ignorance of all things is an evil neither terrible nor excessive, nor yet the greatest of all; but great cleverness and much learning, if they be accompanied by a bad training, are a much greater misfortune.”

IfsEvilLearningGreaterIgnoranceTerribleTrainingAll ThingsMisfortunesPlatoClevernessExcessiveness
Book:Wit and Wisdom of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle: Being a Treasury of Thousands of Glorious, Inspiring and Imperishable Thoughts, Views and Observations of the Three Great Greek Philosophers, Classified Under about Four Hundred Subjects for Comparative Study
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“And what shall he suffer who slays him who of all men, as they say, is his own best friend? I mean the suicide, who deprives himself by violence of his appointed share of life. Not because the law of the state requires him. Nor yet under the compulsion of some painful and inevitable misfortune which has come upon him. Nor because he has had to suffer from irremediable and intolerable shame, but who from sloth or want of manliness imposes upon himself an unjust penalty.”

MenWantMeanStatesLawSufferingViolenceShareShameSuicidePainfulInevitableMisfortunesPenaltiesUnjustSuicidalCompulsionSlothManliness
Book:The Complete Plato
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“Whom do I call educated? First, those who manage well the circumstances they encounter day by day. Next, those who are decent and honorable in their intercourse with all men, bearing easily and good naturedly what is offensive in others and being as agreeable and reasonable to their associates as is humanly possible to be... those who hold their pleasures always under control and are not ultimately overcome by their misfortunes... those who are not spoiled by their successes, who do not desert their true selves but hold their ground steadfastly as wise and sober - minded men.”

MenLifeFirstsHumansWellsSelfSuccessNextPleasureEducationWiseCircumstancesOvercomingEducatedManageDesertEncountersDecentReasonableMisfortunesOffensiveHonorableAssociatesSoberTrue SelfIntercourseSpoiledGood Nature
Author:Socrates
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“A private man, however successful in his own dealing, if his country perish is involved in her destruction; but if he be an unprosperous citizen of a prosperous city, he is much more likely to recover. Seeing, then, that States can bear the misfortunes of individuals, but individuals cannot bear the misfortunes of States, let us all stand by our country.”

IfsMenCountryStatesIndividualCitiesSuccessfulSeeingBearsCitizensInvolvedDestructionOur CountryPatriotismMisfortunesProsperous
Author:Thucydides
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“When a country is in harmony with the Tao, the factories make trucks and tractors. When a country goes counter to the Tao, warheads are stockpiled outside the cities. There is no greater illusion than fear, no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself, no greater misfortune than having an enemy. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe.”

CountryFearCitiesEnemyGreaterSafeIllusionHarmonyMisfortunesFactoriesPreparingTaoTruckTractors
Author:Laozi
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“I should never conclude were I to speak to you of all the misfortunes which have their origin in the faulty carriage of the body. All these defects, mortifying for those who have contracted them, cannot be remedied except in their early stages. A habit born in childhood is strengthened in youth, becomes deeply rooted in adulthood and is incurable in old age.”

ShouldBodyAgeSpeakBornChildhoodStageYouthHabitOld AgeMisfortunesBalletRootedAdulthoodDefectsCarriages
Author:Jean-Georges Noverre
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“The generals have a saying: "Rather than make the first move it is better to wait and see. Rather than advance an inch it is better to retreat a yard." This is called going forward without advancing, pushing back without using weapons. There is no greater misfortune than underestimating your enemy. Underestimating your enemy means thinking that he is evil. Thus you destroy your three treasures and become an enemy yourself. When two great forces oppose each other, the victory will go to the one that knows how to yield.”

ThinkingKnowsFirstsMeanTwoMovingThreeEvilForceWaitingEnemyKnow HowGreaterVictoryWeaponsTreasurePushingYieldMisfortunesInchesYardsUnderestimateRetreatTaoAdvancingPushing Back
Author:Laozi
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“The mere word freedom is the only one that still excites me. I deem it capable of indefinitely sustaining the old human fanaticism. It doubtless satisfies my only legitimate aspiration. Among all the many misfortunes to which we are heir, it is only fair to admit that we are allowed the greatest degree of freedom of thought. It is up to us not to misuse it. To reduce the imagination to a state of slavery-even though it would mean the elimination of what is commonly called happiness-is to betray all sense of absolute justice within oneself.”

HumansMeanStillsStatesImaginationJusticeDegreesCapableFairsAbsolutesSlaveryMereOneselfAspirationMisfortunesBetrayFanaticismFreedom Of ThoughtHeirsEliminationSustainingMisuse
Author:Andre Breton
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“The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe that bad events will last a long time, will undermine everything they do, and are their own fault. The optimists, who are confronted with the same hard knocks of this world, think about misfortune in the opposite way. They tend to believe that defeat is just a temporary setback or a challenge, that its causes are just confined to this one case.”

ThinkingWorldWayBelieveLongHardLastsCausesChallengesCasesEventsThis WorldLong TimeOppositesFaultsDefeatCharacteristicsTemporaryMisfortunesOptimistDefiningConfinedPessimistSetbackTemporary Setbacks
Author:Martin Seligman
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“It ought to be considered a great misfortune, not only for individuals, but also for Houses and Congregations, to have everything in conformity with their wishes; to go on quietly, and to suffer nothing for the love of God. Yes, consider it certain that a person or a Congregation that does not suffer and is applauded by all the world is near a fall.”

WorldPersonsDoeCertainSufferingFallHouseIndividualWishGoes OnOughtGod LoveConformityMisfortunesCongregation
Author:St. Vincent
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“The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood.”

PeopleHas BeensCharacterGovernmentCareCommonCasesCitizensExpectationsFellowsCharityAidsSentimentsMisfortunesBrotherhoodIndulgenceCountrymenFriendliness
Book:Grover Cleveland, 1837-1908: chronology, documents, bibliographical aids
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“In praise of Thy goodness I must confess that Thou didst try with all Thy means to draw me to Thee. Sometimes it pleased Thee to let me feel the heavy hand of Thy displeasure and to humiliate my proud heart by manifold castigations. Sickness and misfortune didst Thou send upon me to turn my thoughts to my errantries.-One thing, only, O Father, do I ask: cease not to labor for my betterment. In whatsoever manner it be, let me turn to Thee and become fruitful in good works.”

FeelsTryingHeartMeanSometimesHandsTurnsAsksFatherOne ThingProudGoodnessDrawsLaborLet MePraiseHeavyCeaseTheeSicknessMisfortunesGood WorkMy ThoughtsBettermentHumiliateManifoldDispleasure
Book:Beethoven, the Man and the Artist, as Revealed in His Own Words
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“To those who live by the land there must always come times of hardship, of fear and of hunger, even as there are years of plenty. This is one of the truths of our existence as those who live by the land know: that sometimes we eat and sometimes we starve. We live by our labours fromone harvest to the next, there is no certain telling whether we shall be able to feed ourselves and our children, and if bad times are prolonged we know we must see the weak surrender their lives and this fact, too, is within our experience. In our lives there is no margin for misfortune.”

IfsKnowsYearsChildrenSometimesFactsAbleCertainNextExistenceOur LivesLandWeakOur ChildrenHungerSurrenderPlentyLabourLive ByHardshipMisfortunesHarvestMarginsBad Times
Author:Kamala Markandaya
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“To this day, I fondly recall the challenges of building a fire, pitching a tent, climbing a New England mountain, canoeing on a lake. Camp songs still resonate inside me. Competition exists at Keewaydin, of course, but nobody fails summer camp, a nice respite from winters of fortune and misfortune at school.”

StillsSchoolSongCoursesChallengesFireNiceFailingBuildingMountainSummerEnglandCompetitionFortuneWinterLakesThis DayMisfortunesClimbingCampsRecallsPitchingTentsNew EnglandRespiteSummer CampCanoeing
Author:Michael Eisner
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“You have no idea how much of the inefficiency of mankind comes from thinking about the wrong-doings of others, and of ourselves. There is nothing more miserable than to feel that by some mistake in life you have not amounted to what you might have, and that your misfortunes all hinge on that mistake.”

ThinkingFeelsIdeasMightMistakeMankindMiserableNo IdeaMisfortunesHingesDoingsInefficiencyLife MistakesWrong Doings
Book:Scientific Christian Mental Practice
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“There is no worse mistake in public leadership than to hold out false hopes soon to be swept away. The British people can face peril or misfortune with fortitude and buoyancy, but they bitterly resent being deceived or finding that those responsible for their affairs are themselves dwelling in a fool's paradise.”

PeopleFacesPoliticalPoliticsMistakeFoolFindingsResponsibleAffairBritishParadiseMisfortunesDeceivedFortitudePerilDwellingResentSwept AwayFalse HopeBeing DeceivedBuoyancy
Book:The Hinge of Fate
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“It is a matter of great satisfaction to me to hope that my children will be in circumstances to receive a good education. Mine was defective and I feel the inconvenience, if not the misfortune of not receiving a classical education. Knowledge is the food of genius, and my son, let no opportunity escape you to treasure up knowledge.”

IfsFeelsChildrenMatterOpportunityMinesSonGeniusCircumstancesSatisfactionTreasureMy ChildrenMy SonMisfortunesReceivingInconvenienceGood EducationDefectiveClassical Education
Book:The Writings of Sam Houston, 1813-1863: 1828-1858
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“By the 'mud-sill' theory it is assumed that labor and education are incompatible; and any practical combination of them impossible. According to that theory, a blind horse upon a tread-mill, is a perfect illustration of what a laborer should be -- all the better for being blind, that he could not tread out of place, or kick understandingly. According to that theory, the education of laborers, is not only useless, but pernicious, and dangerous. In fact, it is, in some sort, deemed a misfortune that laborers should have heads at all.”

ShouldFactsPerfectImpossibleDangerousTheoryLaborShould HaveHorseBlindPracticalsCombinationUselessKicksMisfortunesMudMillsIllustrationPerniciousLaborers
Book:Lincoln on Democracy
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