Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it.—Washington Irving.
Misfortunes are, in morals, what bitters are in medicine: each is at first disagreeable; but as the bitters act as corroborants to the stomach, so adversity chastens and ameliorates the disposition.—From the French.
When one is past, another care we have;
Thus woe succeeds a woe, as wave a wave.
—Herrick.
The greatest misfortune of all is not to be able to bear misfortune.—Bias.
I believe, indeed, that it is more laudable to suffer great misfortunes than to do great things.—Stanislaus.
Our bravest lessons are not learned through success, but misadventure.—Alcott.
The less we parade our misfortunes the more sympathy we command.—Orville Dewey.
It is a celebrated thought of Socrates, that if all the misfortunes of mankind were cast into a public stock, in order to be equally distributed among the whole species, those who now think themselves the most unhappy would prefer the share they are already possessed of, before that which would fall to them by such a division.—Addison.
We should learn, by reflecting on the misfortunes which have attended others, that there is nothing singular in those which befall ourselves.—Melmoth.
Most of our misfortunes are more supportable than the comments of our friends upon them.—Colton.