It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
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).
- Quote Origin: Better to Light a Candle Than to Curse the Darkness – Quote Investigator®
- Eleanor Roosevelt: "It's Better to Light a Candle than to Curse the Darkness." Quote or No Quote? Professor Buzzkill
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PORTIA: How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a weary world.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Merchant of Venice, Act 5, sc. 1, l. 99ff (5.1.99-100) (1597)
(Source)
In some versions, "So shines a good deed in a naughty world."
Sometimes misattributed to Roald Dahl (or even Gene Wilder); the character Willy Wonka uses the second sentence toward the end of the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971).
