It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

w l watkinson
W. L. Watkinson (1838-1925) English Methodist minister and preacher [William Lonsdale Watkinson]
Sermon (1907), “The Invincible Strategy,” The Supreme Conquest and other Sermons Preached in America, Sermon 14
    (Source)

The sermon was written around Romans 12:21 ("Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.").

Often attributed as a Chinese proverb, or a quotation from Confucius or Eleanor Roosevelt.

For more information on this quote's origin and variations, see:See also Kennedy (1960), Pratchett (1993), and Carlin (2004).