Necessity is often the spur to genius.
—Honore de Balzac (1799–1850) French Novelist
Be moderate in prosperity, prudent in adversity.
—Periander (c.625–585 BCE) Tyrant of Corinth
Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
I believe there are more urgent and honorable occupations than the incomparable waste of time we call suffering.
—Colette (1873–1954) French Novelist, Performer
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbow’d.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Lies but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
—William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) English Poet, Critic, Editor
Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Prosperity is not just scale; adversity is the only balance to weigh friends.
—Plutarch (c.46–c.120 CE) Greek Biographer, Philosopher
Even if misfortune is only good for bringing a fool to his senses, it would still be just to deem it good for something.
—Jean de La Fontaine (1621–95) French Poet, Short Story Writer
He who knows no hardships will know no hardihood. He who faces no calamity will need no courage. Mysterious though it is, the characteristics in human nature which we love best grow in a soil with a strong mixture of troubles.
—Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) American Baptist Minister
Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted, but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known.
—Garrison Keillor (b.1942) American Author, Humorist, Radio Personality
Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Things have got to be wrong in order that they may be deplored.
—Alfred Whitney Griswold (1906–63) American Historian, Educator
A noble heart, like the sun, showeth its greatest countenance in its lowest estate.
—Philip Sidney (1554–86) English Soldier Poet, Courtier
By becoming more unhappy, we sometimes learn how to be less so.
—Sophie Swetchine (1782–1857) Russian Mystic, Writer
To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future.
—Plutarch (c.46–c.120 CE) Greek Biographer, Philosopher
One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.
—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French Theologian, Musician, Philosopher, Physician
Nothing in life is so hard that you can’t make it easier by the way you take it.
—Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945) American Novelist
In the depth of winter I finally learned there was inside me an invincible summer.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.
—Lee Iacocca (1924–2019) American Businessperson
The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Science and art are only too often a superior kind of dope, possessing this advantage over booze and morphia: that they can be indulged in with a good conscience and with the conviction that, in the process of indulging, one is leading the “higher life.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Essayist, Short Story Writer, Satirist
To conquer without risk is to triumph without glory.
—Pierre Corneille (1606–84) French Poet, Dramatist
He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
Wisdom comes by disillusionment.
—George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American Poet, Philosopher
The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core strength within you that survives all hurt.
—Max Lerner (1902–92) Russian-born American Journalist
There’s a bit of magic in everything, and some loss to even things out.
—Lou Reed (b.1942) American Musician, Songwriter, Singer
The future… seems to me no unified dream but a mince pie, long in the baking, never quite done.
—Edward Young (1683–1765) English Poet
It’s a different song when everything’s wrong, when you’re feeling infernally mortal; when it’s ten against one, and hope there is none, buck up, little soldier, and chortle!
—Robert W. Service (1874–1958) Scottish Poet, Author
No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.
—William Penn (1644–1718) American Entrepreneur, Political leader, Philosopher
Be on the lookout for mercies. The more we look for them, the more of them we will see. Better to lose count while naming your blessings than to lose your blessings to counting your troubles.
—Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858–1901) American Presbyterian Minister, Writer
Friendship that flows from the heart cannot be frozen by adversity, as the water that flows from the spring cannot congeal in winter.
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) American Novelist
Problems are only opportunities with thorns on them.
—Hugh Miller (1802–56) Scottish Geologist, Writer
Who hath not known ill-fortune, never knew himself, or his own virtue.
—David Mallet (c.1705–1765) Scottish Poet, Dramatist
Noble discontent is the path to heaven.
—Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823–1911) American Social Reformer, Clergyman
Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.
—Bill Gates (b.1955) American Businessperson, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Author
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Treasure the memories of past misfortunes; they constitute our bank of fortitude.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
To every disadvantage there is a corresponding advantage.
—W. Clement Stone (1902–2002) American Self-help Guru, Entrepreneur
Adversity has ever been considered the state in which a man most easily becomes acquainted with himself, then, especially, being free from flatterers.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Affliction comes to us all not to make us sad, but sober; not to make us sorry, but wise; not to make us despondent, but by its darkness to refresh us, as the night refreshes the day; not to impoverish, but to enrich us, as the plough enriches the field; to multiply our joy, as the seed, by planting, is multiplied a thousand-fold.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
There’s nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you.
—Woody Hayes (1913–87) American Sportsperson
When life takes the wind out of your sails, it is to test you at the oars.
—Robert Brault
Adversity is, to me at least, a tonic and a bracer.
—Walter Scott (1771–1832) Scottish Novelist, Poet, Playwright, Lawyer
Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness.
—Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–81) Russian Novelist, Essayist, Writer
Justice should remove the bandage from her eyes long enough to distinguish between the vicious and the unfortunate.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
We must try not to sink beneath our anguish… but battle on.
—J. K. Rowling (b.1965) English Novelist
The depth of darkness to which you can descend and still live is an exact measure of the height to which you can aspire to reach.
—Pliny the Elder (23–79) Roman Statesman, Scholar
Time and tide wait for no man. A pompous and self-satisfied proverb, and was true for a billion years; but in our day of electric wires and water-ballast we turn it around: Man waits not for time nor tide.
—Common Proverb
For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.
—Mary Kay Ash (1918–2001) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
Stars may be seen from the bottom of a deep well, when they cannot be discerned from the top of a mountain? So are many things learned in adversity which the prosperous man dreams not of?
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) English Baptist Preacher
Gray skies are just clouds passing over.
—Duke Ellington (1899–1974) US Jazz Pianist, Composer, Bandleader
If the career you have chosen has some unexpected inconvenience, console yourself by reflecting that no career is without them.
—Jane Fonda (b.1937) American Actress, Political Activist
Adversity is the trial of principle. Without it, a man hardly knows whether he is honest or not.
—Henry Fielding (1707–54) English Novelist, Dramatist
Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor.
—Alexis Carrel (1873–1944) American Surgeon, Biologist
It’s not easy taking my problems one at a time when they refuse to get in line.
—Ashleigh Brilliant (b.1933) British Cartoonist, Author
Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) English Baptist Preacher
Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune, but great minds rise above it.
—Washington Irving (1783–1859) American Essayist, Biographer, Historian
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.
—Truman Capote (1924–84) American Novelist
It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed … The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. All history will convince you of this, and that wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great virtues.
—Abigail Adams (1744–1818) American First Lady
The greater the obstacle, the more glory we have in overcoming it; the difficulties with which we are met are the maids of honor which set off virtue.
—Moliere (1622–73) French Playwright
The greatest difficulties lie where we are not looking for them.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
There is a great deal of unmapped country within us which would have to be taken into account in an explanation of our gusts and storms.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterward carefully avoid.
—John Keats (1795–1821) English Poet
A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure.
—Anonymous
Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile, I caught hell for.
—Earl Warren (1891–1974) American Judge, Politician
The troubles of our proud and angry dust are from eternity, and shall not fail. Bear them we can, and if we can we must. Shoulder the sky, my lad, and drink your ale.
—A. E. Housman (1859–1936) English Poet, Classical Scholar
Trouble shared is trouble halved.
—Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957) British Crime Writer
It isn’t for the moment you are struck that you need courage, but for the long uphill climb back to sanity and faith and security.
—Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906–2001) American Aviator, Author
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Adversity is the first path to truth: He who hath proved war, storm or woman’s rage, whether his winters be eighteen or eighty, has won the experience which is deem’d so weighty.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (1788–1824) English Romantic Poet
When suffering comes, we yearn for some sign from God, forgetting we have just had one.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.
—Theodore Isaac Rubin (1923–2019) American Psychiatrist, Author
A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.
—Chinese Proverb
Man performs and engenders so much more than he can or should have to bear. That’s how he finds that he can bear anything.
—William Faulkner (1897–1962) American Novelist
Those who have suffered much are like those who know many languages; they have learned to understand and be understood by all.
—Sophie Swetchine (1782–1857) Russian Mystic, Writer
Adversity is the true school of the mind.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
I sometimes react to making a mistake as if I have betrayed myself. My fear of making a mistake seems to be based on the hidden assumption that I am potentially perfect and that if I can just be very careful I will not fall from heaven. But a ‘mistake’ is a declaration of the way I am, a jolt to the way I intend, a reminder I am not dealing with the facts. When I have listened to my mistakes I have grown.
—Hugh Prather (b.1938) American Christian Author, Minister, Counselor
We deem those happy who from the experience of life have learned to bear its ills, without being overcome by them.
—Juvenal (c.60–c.136 CE) Roman Poet
I would never have amounted to anything were it not for adversity. I was forced to come up the hard way.
—James Cash Penney (1875–1971) American Entrepreneur
Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has. Out of pain and problems have come the sweetest songs, and the most gripping stories.
—Billy Graham (1918–91) American Baptist Religious Leader
If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
—Dolly Parton (b.1946) American Musician, Actress
Always continue the climb. It is possible for you to do whatever you choose, if you first get to know who you are and are willing to work with a power that is greater than ourselves to do it.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American Poet, Journalist
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809) American Nationalist, Author, Pamphleteer, Radical, Inventor
Every blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, Grow, Grow”.”
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Adversity makes men; good fortune makes monsters.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
I have often been downcast, but never in despair; I regard our hiding as a dangerous adventure, romantic and interesting at the same time. In my diary I treat all the privations as amusing. I have made up my mind now to lead a different life from other girls and, later on, different from ordinary housewives. My start has been so very full of interest, and that is the sole reason why I have to laugh at the humorous side of the most dangerous moments.
—Anne Frank (1929–45) Holocaust Victim
It is easy enough to be pleasant, When life flows by like a song. But the man worthwhile is the one who can smile, when everything goes dead wrong. For the test of the heart is troubled, And it always comes with the years. And the smiles that is worth the praises of earth is the smile that shines through tears.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American Poet, Journalist
In a dark time, the eye begins to see.
—Theodore Roethke (1908–63) American Poet
Calamity is the test of integrity.
—Samuel Richardson (1689–1761) English Novelist, Printer, Publisher
You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.
—Barbara De Angelis (b.1951) American Lecturer, Author, TV Personality, Motivational Speaker
I have lived long enough to be battered by the realities of life, and not too long to be downed by them.
—John Mason Brown (1900–69) American Columnist, Journalist, Author
I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.
—Agatha Christie (1890–1976) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.
—Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967) American Industrialist
If there were no tribulation, there would be no rest; if there were no winter, there would be no summer.
—John Chrysostom (c.347–407 CE) Archbishop of Constantinople
Every evil is some good spelt backwards, and in it the wise know how to read Wisdom.
—Coventry Patmore (1823–96) English Poet, Critic
Mistakes are often the best teachers.
—James Anthony Froude (1818–94) British Historian, Novelist, Biographer, Editor
Despair is anger with no place to go.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man; but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
It is always in the midst, in the epicenter, of your troubles that you find serenity.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
That which causes us trials shall yield us triumph: and that which make our hearts ache shall fill us with gladness. The only true happiness is to learn, to advance, and to improve: which could not happen unless we had commence with error, ignorance, and imperfection. We must pass through the darkness, to reach the light.
—Albert Pike (1809–91) American Masonic Scholar, Orator, Jurist
If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience.
—Robert Fulghum (b.1937) American Unitarian Universalist Author, Essayist, Clergyman
The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.
—John Vance Cheney (1848–1922) American Poet, Essayist, Librarian
All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.
—Walt Disney (1901–66) American Entrepreneur
A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice.
—E. W. Howe (1853–1937) American Novelist, Editor
Prosperity discovers vice, adversity discovers virtue.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
The most valuable gift I ever received was … the gift of insecurity … my father left us. My mother’s love might not have prepared me for life the way my father’s departure did. He forced us out on to the road where we had to earn our bread.
—Lillian Gish (1896–1993) American Actress
Every experience, however bitter, has its lesson, and to focus one’s attention on the lesson helps one overcome the bitterness.
—Edward Howard Griggs
If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.
—Frank A. Clark
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.
—Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Bengali Poet, Polymath
Failure is success if we learn from it.
—Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson
Emergencies have always been necessary to progress. It was darkness which produced the lamp. It was fog that produced the compass. It was hunger that drove us to exploration. And it took a depression to teach us the real value of a job.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seamed with scars; martyrs have put on their coronation robes glittering with fire, and through their tears have the sorrowful first seen the gates of Heaven.
—Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–80) American Preacher, Poet
If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm.
—Frank Lane (1896–1981) American Sportsperson, Businessperson
Though losses and crosses be lessons right severe, there’s wit there ye’ll get there, ye’ll find no other where.
—Robert Burns (1759–96) Scottish Poet, Songwriter
Don’t look forward to the day when you stop suffering. Because when it comes, you’ll know you’re dead.
—Tennessee Williams (1911–83) American Playwright
The actual tragedies of life bear no relation to one’s preconceived ideas. In the event, one is always bewildered by their simplicity, their grandeur of design, and by that element of the bizarre which seems inherent in them.
—Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) French Poet, Playwright, Film Director
As long as you keep getting born, it’s alright to die some times.
—Orson Scott Card (b.1951) American Author, Critic, Political Activist
Many who seem to be struggling with adversity are happy; many, amid great affluence, are utterly miserable.
—Tacitus (56–117) Roman Orator, Historian
Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.
—African Proverb
You may live in an imperfect world but the frontiers are not closed and the doors are not all shut.
—Maxwell Maltz (1899–1975) American Surgeon, Motivational Writer
It is foolish to tear one’s hair in grief, as though sorrow would be made less by baldness.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
All adverse and depressing influences can be overcome, not by fighting, but by rising above them.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.
—Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American Inventor, Scientist, Entrepreneur
The same wind that extinguishes a light can set a brazier on fire.
—Pierre Beaumarchais (1732–99) French Inventor, Diplomat, Musician, Fugitive, Revolutionary
Part of the happiness of life consists not in fighting battles, but in avoiding them. A masterly retreat is in itself a victory.
—Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993) American Clergyman, Self-Help Author
Who has never tasted what is bitter does not know what is sweet.
—German Proverb
It is not good for all our wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion, the value of rest.
—Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879–1958) American Novelist
Adversity has the same effect on a man that severe training has on the pugilist: it reduces him to his fighting weight.
—Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818–85) American Humorist, Author, Lecturer
Be still my heart; thou hast known worse than this.
—Homer (751–651 BCE) Ancient Greek Poet
Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses, and disappointments; but let us have patience, and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
Poverty, frost, famine, rain, disease, are the beadles and guardsmen that hold us to common sense.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Much of your pain is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
Watch a man in times of… adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn from the depths of his heart, and the mask is torn off.
—Lucretius (c.99–55 BCE) Roman Epicurean Poet, Philosopher
My angel, cries Booth, it delights me to hear you talk thus, and for a reason you little guess; for I am assured that one who can so heroically endure adversity, will bear prosperity with equal greatness of soul; for the mind that cannot be dejected by the former, is not likely to be transported with the latter.
—Henry Fielding (1707–54) English Novelist, Dramatist
Tough times never last, but tough people do.
—Robert H. Schuller (1926–2015) American Christian Televangelist, Author
Men strive for peace, but it is their enemies that give them strength, and I think if man no longer had enemies, he would have to invent them, for his strength only grows from struggle.
—Louis L’Amour (1908–88) American Novelist, Short-story Writer
Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. They’re what make the instrument stretch — what makes you go beyond the norm.
—Cicely Tyson (b.1933) American Actor, Theater Personality, TV Personality
You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him.
—Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) African-American Educationist
I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can’t make it through one door, I’ll go through another door — or I’ll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.
—Joan Rivers (1933–2014) American Comedienne, Writer
The fiery trials through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the last generation.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
They merit more praise who know how to suffer misery than those who temper themselves with contentment.
—Pietro Aretino (1492–1556) Italian Poet, Dramatist, Satirist
If I had a formula for bypassing trouble, I wouldn’t pass it around. Wouldn’t be doing anybody a favor. Trouble creates a capacity to handle it. I don’t say embrace trouble. That’s as bad as treating it as an enemy. But I do say, meet it as a friend, for you’ll see a lot of it and had better be on speaking terms with it.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) American Jurist, Author
It’s a matter of ABC: When we encounter ADVERSITY, we react by thinking about it. Our thoughts rapidly congeal into BELIEFS. These beliefs may become so habitual we don’t even realize we have them unless we stop to focus on them. And they don’t just sit there idly; they have CONSEQUENCES. The beliefs are the direct cause of what we feel and what we do next. They can spell the difference between dejection and giving up, on the one hand, and well-being and constructive action on the other. The first step is to see the connection between adversity, belief, and consequence. The second step is to see how the ABCs operate every day in your own life.
—Martin Seligman (b.1942) American Psychologist, Author
There could be no honor in a sure success, but much might be wrested from a sure defeat.
—T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935) British Soldier, Scholar, Writer
In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. The last is much the worst; the last is a real tragedy!
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.
—Arnold Schwarzenegger (b.1947) Austrian-American Athlete, Actor, Politician
Adversity is like the period of the former and of the latter rain, — cold, comfortless, unfriendly to man and to animal; yet from that season have their birth the flower and the fruit, the date, the rose, and the pomegranate.
—Walter Scott (1771–1832) Scottish Novelist, Poet, Playwright, Lawyer
He that has never suffered extreme adversity, knows not the full extent of his own depravation.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
A new wound makes all the old ones ache again.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in our own sunshine.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
It is often better to have a great deal of harm happen to one than a little; a great deal may rouse you to remove what a little will only accustom you to endure.
—George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick (1746–1816) British Nobleman, Politician
In my youth, poverty enriched me, but now I can afford wealth.
—Marc Chagall (1889–1985) Russian-born French Painter, Graphic Artist
In prosperity we need moderation; in adversity, patience.
—Lee Iacocca (1924–2019) American Businessperson
There is no education like adversity.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man.
Kites rise against, not with the wind.
No man ever worked his passage anywhere in a dead calm.
—John Neal (1793-1876) American Editor, Poet, Novelist, Critic
The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.
—Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–80) French Philosopher, Playwright, Novelist, Screenwriter, Political Activist
Any port in a storm.
—Common Proverb
Of all the advantages which come to any young man, I believe it to be demonstrably true that poverty is the greatest.
—Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819–81) American Editor, Novelist
I think the years I have spent in prison have been the most formative and important in my life because of the discipline, the sensations, but chiefly the opportunity to think clearly, to try to understand things.
—Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) Indian Head of State
Nothing is harder to direct than a man in prosperity; nothing more easily managed than one in adversity.
—Plutarch (c.46–c.120 CE) Greek Biographer, Philosopher
The proof of gold is fire.
—Common Proverb
Misfortunes tell us what fortune is.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Difficulties should act as a tonic. They should spur us to greater exertion.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
In my room as a kid… I’d play a fighter and get knocked to the floor and come back to win.
—Dustin Hoffman (b.1937) American Actor, Filmmaker
The beauty of the world, which is so soon to perish, has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder.
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English Novelist
Adversity is a severe instructor, set over us by one who knows us better than we do ourselves, as he loves us better too. He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. This conflict with difficulty makes us acquainted with our object, and compels us to consider it in all its relations. It will not suffer us to be superficial.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
Life begins on the other side of despair.
—Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–80) French Philosopher, Playwright, Novelist, Screenwriter, Political Activist
It is better to drink of deep griefs than to taste shallow pleasures.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
—Anne Bradstreet (1612–72) English Poet
When the ox is down, many are the butchers.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Time destroys the speculation of men, but it confirms nature.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Adversity does, I think, allow a person to grow, to feel more empathy, to feel wisdom, and more importantly, to feel perspective.
—Doris Kearns Goodwin American Biographer, Historian
But at my back I always hear time’s winged chariot hurrying near.
—Andrew Marvell (1621–78) English Metaphysical Poet
Happiness is beneficial for the body but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind.
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922) French Novelist