Nobody who has not been in the interior of a family can say what the difficulties of any individual of that family may be.
Quotations about:
problems
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
NURSE: We’re ruined, then, if we must add a new
Evil to the old one we’ve hardly saved ourselves from.[ΤΡΟΦΌΣ: Ἀπωλόμεσθ᾽ ἄρ᾽, εἰ κακὸν προσοίσομεν
νέον παλαιῷ, πρὶν τόδ᾽ ἐξηντληκέναι.]Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 78ff (431 BC) [tr. Podlecki (1989)]
(Source)
Reacting to the news that King Creon is going to banish Medea and her sons, on top of the existing problem of Medea's broken marriage and fraying sanity. (Turns out, she's not wrong.)
(Source (Greek)). Other translations:We shall be plung'd
In utter ruin, if to our old woes
Yet unexhausted, any fresh we add.
[tr. Wodhull (1782)]Rain would follow, to the former ill
If this were added e'er the first subsides.
[tr. Potter (1814)]We are undone then if to the first ill,
Ere yet it be drained dry, we add a new.
[tr. Webster (1868)]Undone, it seems, are we, if to old woes fresh ones we add, ere we have drained the former to the dregs.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]We perish then, if to the old we shall add a new ill, before the former be exhausted.
[tr. Buckley (1892)]We are undone then, if we add fresh ill
To old, ere lightened be our ship of this.
[tr. Way (Loeb) (1894)]But this is ruin! New waves breaking in
To wreck us, ere we are righted from the old!
[tr. Murray (1906)]It’s black indeed for us, when we add new to old
Sorrows before even the present sky has cleared.
[tr. Warner (1944)]Then we're lost, if we must add new trouble
To old, before we're rid of what we had already.
[tr. Vellacott (1963)]We are done for, it seems, if we add this new trouble to our old ones before we've weathered those.
[tr. Kovacs (1994)]That’s scuppered us, then, if a new wave is going to crash over us before we’ve managed to bale out the old one!
[tr. Davie (1996)]Well then, we are finished, old man!
We are destroyed! New troubles arrive even before the old ones have gone!
[tr. Theodoridis (2004)]It’s all over for us, if we take on new troubles
on top of the old, before they have been drained out.
[tr. Luschnig (2007)]If we must add these brand-new troubles
to our old ones, before we’ve dealt with them,
then we’re finished.
[tr. Johnston (2008)]Then we are lost, if we must add this new evil
before we've drained the old one to the dregs.
[tr. Ewans (2022)]That's it, we're doomed. New troubles are poured in our cup
Faster than we can drink the old ones to the dregs.
[tr. Hill (2025)]Then we are ruined, if we add new trouble [kakon] to old, before we have bailed out the latter.
[tr. Coleridge / Ceragioli / Nagy / Hour25]
BARABAS: No, Abigail, things past recovery
Are hardly cur’d with exclamations.Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (1564-1593) English dramatist and poet
The Jew of Malta, Act 3, sc. 1, l. 237ff (c. 1590)
(Source)
Is your cucumber bitter? Throw it away. Are there briars in your path? Turn aside. That is enough. Do not go on to say, “Why were things of this sort ever brought into the world?” The student of nature will only laugh at you; just as a carpenter or a shoemaker would laugh, if you found fault with the shavings and scraps from their work which you saw in the shop.
[Σίκυος πικρός; ἄφες. βάτοι ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ; ἔκκλινον. ἀρκεῖ, μὴ προσεπείπῃς: τί δὲ καὶ ἐγένετο ταῦτα ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ; ἐπεὶ καταγελασθήσῃ ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπου φυσιολόγου, ὡς ἂν καὶ ὑπὸ τέκτονος καὶ σκυτέως γελασθείης καταγινώσκων ὅτι ἐν τῷ ἐργαστηρίῳ ξέσματα καὶ περιτμήματα τῶν κατασκευαζομένων ὁρᾷς.]
Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 8, ch. 50 (8.50) (AD 161-180) [tr. Staniforth (1964)]
(Source)
(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:Is the cucumber bitter? set it away. Brambles are in the way? avoid them. Let this suffice. Add not presently speaking unto thyself, What serve these things for in the world? For, this, one that is acquainted with the mysteries of nature, will laugh at thee for it; as a carpenter would or a shoemaker, if meeting in either of their shops with some shavings, or small remnants of their work, thou shouldest blame them for it.
[tr. Casaubon (1634), 8.48]Does your Cucumber taste bitter? Let it alone. Are there Brambles in your way? Avoid them then. Thus far you are well: But then don't ask what does the World with such stuff as this is? This is to be too Bold, and Impertinent; And a Natural Philosopher would laugh at you: This Expostulation is just as Wise as it would be to find fault with a Carpenter for having Saw-dust, or a Taylor Shreds in his Shop.
[tr. Collier (1701)]Is the cucumber bitter? Throw it away. Are there thorns in the way? Walk aside. That is enough. Don’t be adding; “Why were such things in the universe?” A naturalist would laugh at you, as would a carpenter, too, or a shoe-maker, if you were finding fault, because shavings and parings of their Works are lying about in their work-houses.
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]Is the cucumber which you are eating, bitter? let it alone. Are there thorns int he path where you are walking? avoid them. This is sufficient for your particular purpose. But do not peevishly ask, "why are such things permitted in the world?" For a naturalist would laugh at you; and with as much reason as a carpenter or a tailor would do, if you should blame them for having shavings or shreds in their respective shops.
[tr. Graves (1792), 8.49]A cucumber is bitter -- Throw it away. -- There are briers in the road -- Turn aside from them. -- This is enough. Do not add, And why were such things made in the world? For thou wilt be ridiculed by a man who is acquainted with nature, as thou wouldst be ridiculed by a carpenter and shoemaker if thou didst find fault because thou seest in their workshop shavings and cuttings from the things which they make.
[tr. Long (1862)]Does your cucumber taste bitter? Let it alone. Are there brambles in your way? Avoid them then. Thus far you are well. But, then, do not ask what does the world with such things as this, for a natural philosopher would laugh at you. This expostulation is just as wise as it would be to find fault with a carpenter for having saw-dust, or a tailor shreds in his shop.
[tr. Collier/Zimmern (1887)]The gourd is bitter: drop it then! There are brambles in the path: then turn aside! It is enough. Do not go on to argue, Why pray have these things a place int he world? The natural philosopher would laugh at you, just as a carpenter or cobbler would laugh, if you began finding fault because you saw chips or parings lying about their shop.
[tr. Rendall (1898)]Is the gourd bitter? Put it from you. Are there thorns in the way? Walk aside. That is enough. Do not add, “Why were such things brought into the world?” The naturalist would laugh at you, just as would a carpenter or a shoemaker, if you began fault-finding because you saw shavings and parings from their work strewn about the workshop.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]The gherkin is bitter. Toss it away. There are briars in the path. Turn aside. That suffices, and thou needest not to add: Why are such things found in the world? For thou wouldst be a laughing stock to any student of nature; just as thou wouldst be laughed at by a carpenter and a cobbler if thou tookest them to task because in their shops are seen sawdust and parings from what they are making.
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]The cucumber is bitter? Put it down. There are brambles in the path? Step to one side. That is enough, without also asking: "Why did these things come into the world at all?" Because the student of Nature will ridicule the question, exactly as a carpenter or cobbler would laugh at you if you found fault because you see shavings and clippings from their work in their shops.
[tr. Farquharson (1944)]The cucumber is bitter? Cast it aside. There are brambles in the path? Step out of the way. That will suffice, and you need not ask in addition, "Why did such things ever come into the world?" For anyone who has made a study of nature would laugh at you, just as a carpenter or shoemaker would laugh at you if you criticised them because you could see in their workshop the shavings or parings form what they were working on.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]The cucumber is bitter? Then throw it out.
There are brambles in the path? Then go around them.
That's all you need to know. Nothing more. Don't demand to know "why such things exist." Anyone who understands the world will laugh at you, just as a carpenter would if you seemed shocked at finding sawdust in his workshop, or a shoemaker at scraps of leather left over from work.
[tr. Hays (2003)]A bitter cucumber? Throw it away. Brambles in the path? Go round them. That is all you need, without going on to ask, "So why are these things in the world anyway?" That question would be laughable to a student of nature, just as any carpenter or cobbler would laugh at you if you objected to the sight of shavings or off-cuts from their work on the shop floor.
[tr. Hammond (2006)]The cucumber is bitter? Then cast it aside. There are brambles in the path? Step out of the way. That will suffice, and you need not ask in addition, "Why did such things ever come into the world?" For anyone who has made a study of nature would laugh at you, just as a carpenter or shoemaker would laugh at you if you criticized them because you could see in their workshop the shavings or parings from the items that they were working on.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]
It’s a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one’s life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than “Try to be a little kinder.”
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
(Attributed)
(Source)
Quoted in Huston Smith, "Aldous Huxley -- A Tribute," The Psychedelic Review, Vol. 1, No. 3 (1964) (the Aldous Huxley Memorial Issue).
A variant is in Laura Huxley's biography of her husband, This Timeless Moment: A Personal View of Aldous Huxley, "One Never Loves Enough" (1968). She identified it as coming from a "public talk" not long before his death:It is a little embarrassing that, after forty-five years of research and study, the best advice I can give to people is to be a little kinder to each other.
Adversity makes men; prosperity makes monsters.
[L’adversité fait l’homme, et le bonheur les monstres.]
Proverbs, Sayings, and Adages
French proverb
Variants:Often attributed to Victor Hugo, including from sources going back to the 19th Century (Ballou (1899)). I have not been able to find an actual citation or primary source.
- "Adversity makes men, but prosperity makes monsters."
- "Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters."
- "Prosperity makes monsters, but adversity makes men."
It is also widely noted as an anonymous or proverbial saying (e.g., 1809, 1818).
It may well be a French proverb that was incorrectly attributed to Hugo (who wrote quite a bit on the subjects of adversity and prosperity) in order to have a name to hang off of it.
HELEN: When a man broods on a single misfortune and feels the gods are against him, though his suffering is real, it can be borne; but I am crushed by innumerable blows at once.
[ἙΛΈΝΗ: ὅστις μὲν οὖν ἐς μίαν ἀποβλέπων τύχην
πρὸς θεῶν κακοῦται, βαρὺ μέν, οἰστέον δ᾽ ὅμως:
ἡμεῖς δὲ πολλαῖς συμφοραῖς ἐγκείμεθα.]Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Helen [Ἑλένη], l. 267ff (412 BC) [tr. Vellacott (1954)]
(Source)
(Source (Greek)). Other translations:He whom the gods afflict,
His sad thoughts though a single suffering claims,
Feels its weight heavy, yet perforce must bear it:
But I with many suffering am weigh'd down.
[tr. Potter (1783), l. 300ff]Whoever therefore, with one single species
Of misery is afflicted by the gods,
Although the weight of Heaven's chastising hand
Be grievous, may with fortitude endure
Such visitation, but by many woes
Am I oppressed.
[tr. Wodhull (1809)]Whosoever therefore, looking to one fate only, is ill-treated by the Gods, it is a thing heavy indeed, but may nevertheless be borne; but I lie amidst many calamities.
[tr. Buckley (1850)]When someone looks to one event only, and is ill-treated by the gods, it is hard, but all the same it can be borne. But I am involved in countless troubles.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]Whoso, on one chance centering all his hopes,
Is stricken of God, hard though it be, may bear it;
But I -- I am whelmed in many miseries.
[tr. Way (Loeb) (1912)]If in some one respect the gods afflict us,
It is not easy, yet we grieve with patience.
But grief on grief is multiplied in me.
[tr. Sheppard (1925)]When a man looks for one thing only, and the gods
take that thing from him, it is hard, but bearable.
On me, however, many things have come at once.
[tr. Warner (1951)]He who sees from the gods a single strain of luck,
all bad, has a sad lot, but can endure it still.
More complex is the sorrow in which I am involved.
[tr. Lattimore (1956)]To fix your every hope on one thing
and then in that to be disappointed by the gods,
is admittedly a heavy blow.
But it is bearable.
Not so with me.
My misfortunes are many.
Blow after blow, they beat me down.
[tr. Meagher (1986)]When you set your sights on one ambition and then are cheated of this by the gods, it is hard to bear but must be endured.
[tr. Davie (2002)]Now, if a man doth turn his eyes to a single phase of fortune, and meets ill-usage at heaven's hands, 'tis hard no doubt; but still it can be borne; but I in countless troubles am involved.
[tr. Athenian Society (2006)]When someone is victimized by the gods in one thing,
It's hard, but it can be endured.
I am beset with problems on all sides.
[tr. A. Wilson (2007)]When a man has a plan in mind but is hindered by the will of the gods, well, that’s a hard thing to cope with but it can be endured but I -- I have fallen victim to many misfortunes.
[tr. Theodoridis (2011)]When someone faces a crisis from the gods, and is distressed,
it’s a burden, yes -- but bearable all the same.
But me, I’m wrapped in many sorrows.
[Ambrose et al. (2018)]When someone looks to one event only, and is ill-treated by the gods, it is hard, but all the same it can be borne. But I am involved in countless troubles.
[tr. Coleridge / Helen Heroization Team]
And now, ladies and gentlemen, that we’ve enjoyed some good times this evening, and enjoyed some laughter together, I feel it is my obligation to remind you of some of the negative, depressing, dangerous, life-threatening things that life is really all about; things you have not been thinking about tonight, but which will be waiting for you as soon as you leave the theater or as soon as you turn off your television sets. Anal rape, quicksand, body lice, evil spirits, gridlock, acid rain, continental drift, labor violence, flash floods, rabies, torture, bad luck, calcium deficiency, falling rocks, cattle stampedes, bank failure, evil neighbors, killer bees, organ rejection, lynching, toxic waste, unstable dynamite, religious fanatics, prickly heat, price fixing, moral decay, hotel fires, loss of face, stink bombs, bubonic plague, neo-Nazis, friction, cereal weevils, failure of will, chain reaction, soil erosion, mail fraud, dry rot, voodoo curse, broken glass, snake bite, parasites, white slavery, public ridicule, faithless friends, random violence, breach of contract, family scandals, charlatans, transverse myelitis, structural defects, race riots, sunspots, rogue elephants, wax buildup, killer frost, jealous coworkers, root canals, metal fatigue, corporal punishment, sneak attacks, peer pressure, vigilantes, birth defects, false advertising, ungrateful children, financial ruin, mildew, loss of privileges, bad drugs, ill-fitting shoes, widespread chaos, Lou Gehrig’s disease, stray bullets, runaway trains, chemical spills, locusts, airline food, shipwrecks, prowlers, bathtub accidents, faulty merchandise, terrorism, discrimination, wrongful cremation, carbon deposits, beef tapeworm, taxation without representation, escaped maniacs, sunburn, abandonment, threatening letters, entropy, nine-mile fever, poor workmanship, absentee landlords, solitary confinement, depletion of the ozone layer, unworthiness, intestinal bleeding, defrocked priests, loss of equilibrium, disgruntled employees, global warming, card sharks, poisoned meat, nuclear accidents, broken promises, contamination of the water supply, obscene phone calls, nuclear winter, wayward girls, mutual assured destruction, rampaging moose, the greenhouse effect, cluster headaches, social isolation, Dutch elm disease, the contraction of the universe, paper cuts, eternal damnation, the wrath of God, and PARANOIA!!
George Carlin (1937-2008) American comedian
Show (1986-05-02/03), Playin’ with Your Head, “Things to Watch Out For,” Beverly Theater, Los Angeles
(Source)
Our minds are better employed in bearing the misfortunes that do befall us than in foreseeing those that may.
[Il vaut mieux employer notre esprit à supporter les infortunes qui nous arrivent qu’à prévoir celles qui nous peuvent arriver.]
François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶174 (1665-1678) [tr. Tancock (1959)]
(Source)
Appeared in the 1st edition as this variant:[Il vaut mieux employer notre son esprit à supporter les infortunes qui arrivent qu’à pénétrer celles qui peuvent arriver.]
(Source (French)). Other translations:A mans Wits are Employed to better purpose in bearing up under the misfortunes that lie upon him at present, than in foreseeing those that may come upon him hereafter.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶175]It is a better employment of the understanding to bear the misfortunes that actually befal us, than to penetrate into those that may.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶463; ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶167]The understanding is better employed in bearing actual misfortune, than in penetrating into that which possibly may befal us.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶393]It is better to employ; our minds in supporting the misfortunes which actually happen, than in anticipating those which may happen to us.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶177]It is far better to accustom our mind to bear the ills we have than to speculate on those which may befall us.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶174]We make better use of our abilities by endeavoring to bear our misfortunes, than in seeking to forestall possible catastrophes.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶174]It is better to devote our minds to endurance of present misfortunes than to anticipation of those which the future may bring.
[tr. Stevens (1939), ¶174]Our wits are better employed in helping us endure present misfortunes than in anticipating those that may yet be to come.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957), ¶174]It is better for our minds to help us bear existing misfortunes than prevent possible future ones.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶174]It is better to employ our mind in bearing misfortunes which actually happen to us, than in predicting those which could occur in future.
[tr. Whichello (2016) ¶174]
In the disastrous Accidents of our Lives, wherein thy own Industry and Strength will not help thee, thy Patience must.
Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 2041 (1727)
(Source)
The wise man thinks about his troubles only when there is some purpose in doing so; at other times he thinks about other things, or, if it is night, about nothing at all.
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)
(Source)
Yet however grim circumstances are, human beings, if they really are human, occasionally relax.
[Homines quamvis in turbidis rebus sint, tamen, si modo homines sunt, interdum animis rexantur.]
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Philippics [Philippicae; Antonian Orations], No. 2, ch. 16 / sec. 39 (2.16/2.39) (44-10-24 BC) [tr. Grant (1960)]
(Source)
To Antony's accusations of his inappropriately telling jokes while in camp with Pompey's army.
(Source (Latin)). Other translations:Men, so long as they are men, relax at times even amid the heaviest perplexities.
[tr. King (1877)]Men, in whatever anxiety they may be, if they are men, sometimes indulge in relaxation.
[ed. Hoyt (1896)]But men, in however troublous times -- if only they are human -- sometimes relax their minds.
[tr. Ker (Loeb) (1926)]Although men are in great difficulties, still, provided they are men, they sometimes relax their minds.
[tr. Yonge (1903)]In whatever trouble men may be, yet so long as they are men, they must occasionally have their moments of cheerfulness.
[ed. Harbottle (1906)]Human beings, even in times of crisis, do sometimes unwind, if they are human at all.
[tr. Berry (2006)]Even when they are in troubled situations, men, if they are human, still relax their minds from time to time.
[tr. McElduff (2011)]
It is easy enough to be pleasant,
When life flows by like a song,
But the man worth while is one who will smile,
When everything goes dead wrong.Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) American author, poet, temperance advocate, spiritualist
Poem (1892), “Worth While,” st. 1, An Erring Woman’s Love
(Source)
Sometimes called "The Man Worth While." Collected again in Poems of Cheer (1910).
However, as we have just pointed out, brains which are absorbed in some bit of wisdom, or folly, or, as it often happens, in both at once, are but slowly accessible to the things of actual life. Their own destiny is a far-off thing to them. There results from such concentration a passivity, which, if it were the outcome of reasoning, would resemble philosophy. One declines, descends, trickles away, even crumbles away, and yet is hardly conscious of it one’s self. It always ends, it is true, in an awakening, but the awakening is tardy. In the meantime, it seems as though we held ourselves neutral in the game which is going on between our happiness and our unhappiness. We are the stake, and we look on at the game with indifference.
[Du reste, comme nous venons de l’indiquer, les cerveaux absorbés dans une sagesse, ou dans une folie, ou, ce qui arrive souvent, dans les deux à la fois, ne sont que très lentement perméables aux choses de la vie. Leur propre destin leur est lointain. Il résulte de ces concentrations-là une passivité qui, si elle était raisonnée, ressemblerait à la philosophie. On décline, on descend, on s’écoule, on s’écroule même, sans trop s’en apercevoir. Cela finit toujours, il est vrai, par un réveil, mais tardif. En attendant, il semble qu’on soit neutre dans le jeu qui se joue entre notre bonheur et notre malheur. On est l’enjeu, et l’on regarde la partie avec indifférence.]
Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
Les Misérables, Part 3 “Marius,” Book 5 “The Excellence of Misfortune,” ch. 4 (3.5.4) (1862) [tr. Hapgood (1887)]
(Source)
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:However, as we have just indicated, brains absorbed in wisdom, or in folly, or, as often happens, in both at once, are but very slowly permeable by the affairs of life. Their own destiny is far from them. There results from such concentrations of mind a passivity which, if it were due to reason, would resemble philosophy . We decline, we descend, we fall, we are even overthrown, and we hardly perceive it. This always ends, it is true, by an awakening, but a tardy one. In the meantime, it seems as though we were neutral in the game which is being played between our good and our ill fortune. We are the stake, yet we look upon the contest with indifference.
[tr. Wilbour (1862)]As we have remarked, things of this world permeate very slowly brains absorbed in wisdom, or mania, or, as often happens, in both at once. Their own destiny is remote from them. The result of such concentrations is a passiveness which, were it of a reasoning nature, would resemble philosophy. Men sink, pass away, drift away, even crumble away without exactly noticing, though this always ends with a re-awakening, but a tardy one. In the meanwhile, it appears as if they are neutral in the game which is being played between their happiness and misery; they are the stakes, and look on at the game with indifference.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]In general, as we have already suggested, minds absorbed in wisdom or in folly, or in both at once as often happens, are little affected by the vicissitudes of daily life. Their personal destiny is a thing remote from them. Such detachment creates a state of acquiescence which, if it were the outcome of reflection, might be termed philosophical. But they submit to losses and reverses, even to physical decay, without being much aware of them. It is true that in the end there is an awakening, but it is late in coming. In the meantime they stand as it were aloof from the play of personal fortune and misfortune, pawns in a game of which they are detached spectators.
[tr. Denny (1976)]However, as we have just indicated, brains absorbed in wisdom, in folly, or, as often happens, in both at once, are permeated only slowly by the affairs of life. Their own destiny is far from them. From such concentrations of mind comes a passivity which, if due to reason, would resemble philosophy. We decline, we descend, we fall, we are even overthrown, and we hardly notice it. This always ends, it is true, in an awakening, but a tardy one. In the meantime, we seem neutrals in the game being played between our good and our ill fortune. We are the stake, yet we look on the contest with indifference.
[tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]However, as we have just suggested, minds engrossed in wisdom or folly , or, as is often the case, in both at the same time, are only very slowly pervious to matters of everyday life. Their own destiny is far removed from them. resulting from this kind of concentration is a passivity, which, if there were any reasoning behind it, would seem philosophical. Such minds go into a decline, they sink, they languish, they even come to grief without really being aware of it. True, this always ends with an awakening, but a belated one. In the meantime it is as if they had no interest in the game that plays out between their happiness and their unhappiness. They who are themselves as stake watch the game with indifference.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]
Last year we said, “Things can’t go on like this,” and they didn’t, they got worse.
Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1930-01-11)
(Source)
Collected in Sanity Is Where You Find It, ch. 8 (1955) [ed. Donald Day].
THE DOCTOR: Listen, listen, gotta dash. Things happening. Well, four things. Well, four things and a lizard.
Doctor Who (2005-Present) British science fiction television series, revival (BBC)
03×10 “Blink” (2007-06-09) [w. Steven Moffat]
(Source)
A thing I am not anxious to preserve
Is this frail life; for soon as one woe ends,
Others commence, and our weak eyes discern not
What evil fortunes yet remain behind.[αἰεὶ τὸ µὲν ζῇ, τὸ δὲ µεθίσταται κακόν,
τὸ δ’ αὖ πέφηνεν αὖθις ἐξ ἀρχῆς νέον.]Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Æolus [Αἴολος], frag. 35 (TGF) [tr. Wodhull (1809)]
(Source)
Nauck frag. 35, Barnes frag. 51, Musgrave frag. 15, 16. (Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:One ill is ever clinging;
One treads upon its heels;
A third, in distance springing,
Its fearful front reveals.
[tr. Peacock (1897)]One trouble alive and well, another gone,
as all afresh a new one comes our way.
[Source]
Trouble, like the hill ahead, straightens out when you advance upon it.
Marcelene Cox (1900-1998) American writer, columnist, aphorist
“Ask Any Woman” column, Ladies’ Home Journal (1953-05)
(Source)
When life hands you lemons, make whiskey sours.
W. C. Fields (1880-1946) American entertainer [b. William Claude Dukenfield]
(Attributed)
While attributed to Fields, possibly on a radio show, there is no documentation to indicate he ever actually said it.
More exploration of other references: The Big Apple: “When life gives you lemons, make a whiskey sour. For God’s sake, we’re adults now, people”.
It’s no use crying over spilt evils. It’s better to mop them up laughing.
Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965) English author
Gypsy and Ginger, “Gypsy and Ginger Take Things Seriously” [Gypsy] (1920)
(Source)
Sometimes it is good for us to have troubles and hardships, for they often call us back to our own hearts. Once there, we know ourselves to be strangers in this world, and we know that we may not believe in anything that it has to offer.
[Bonum nobis est, quod aliquando habeamus aliquas gravitates et contrarietates, quia sæpe hominem ad cor revocant, quatenus se in exilio esse cognoscat, nec spem suam in aliqua mundi re ponat.]
Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380-1471) German-Dutch priest, author
The Imitation of Christ [De Imitatione Christi], Book 1, ch. 12, v. 1 (1.12.1) (c. 1418-27) [tr. Creasy (1989)]
(Source)
See Psalm 119:71.
(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:It is good that we have sometime griefs and adversities, for they drive a man to behold himself, and to see that he is here but as in an exile, and be learned thereby to know that he ought not to put his trust in any worldly thing.
[tr. Whitford/Raynal (1530/1871)]It is good that we sometimes have griefs and adversities, for they drive a man to behold himself and to see that he is but here as in exile, and to learn thereby that he ought not put his trust in any worldly thing.
[tr. Whitford/Gardiner (1530/1955)]It is good for us sometimes to suffer affliction and contradiction, because they oftentimes call a man home unto himselfe. They make a man to know that he liveth here but in banishment, and that he must not trust to any thing in this world.
[tr. Page (1639), x.12.1-2]It is good for me that I have been in Trouble, says David. Nor is it David's Case alone, for many Men have reason to bless that Providence which sends Crosses and Calamities upon them. These bring Man's Thoughts home, put him upon Reflection, and help him to understand himself and his Condition. They shew him, that he is in a State of Exile and Pilgrimage, and forbid him to set up his Hope and Rest, in a strange Country, where he is no better than a Sojourner.
[tr. Stanhope (1696; 1706 ed.)]It is good for man to suffer the adversity of this earthly life; for it brings him back to the sacred retirement of the heart, where only he finds, that he is an exile from his native home, and ought not to place his trust in any worldly enjoyment.
[tr. Payne (1803)]It is good that we have sometimes some troubles and crosses; for they often make a man enter into himself, and consider that he is here in banishment, and ought not to place his trust in any worldly thing.
[ed. Parker (1841)]It is good for us that we sometimes suffer contrarieties and vexations; for they call a man back to the retirement of his heart, where only he finds, that, as he is an exile from his native home, he ought not to place his trust in any worldly enjoyment.
[tr. Dibdin (1851)]It is good for us to have sometimes troubles and adversities, for they make a man enter into himself, that he may know that he is in exile, and may not place his hopes in anything of the world.
[ed. Bagster (1860)]It is good for us that we sometimes have sorrows and adversities, for they often make a man lay to heart that he is only a stranger and sojourner, and may not put his trust in any worldly thing.
[tr. Benham (1874)]It is good that we have sometimes troubles and crosses; for they often make a man enter into himself, and consider that he is here in banishment, and ought not to place his trust in any worldly thing.
[tr. Anon. (1901)]It is good for us to have trials and troubles at times, for they often remind us that we are on probation and ought not to hope in any worldly thing.
[tr. Croft/Bolton (1940)]It is good for us at times to have some burdens and adversities, for they often call a man back to his heart, that he may recognise himself to be in exile, and not fix his hope on anything earthly.
[tr. Daplyn (1952)]It is good for us to encounter troubles and adversities from time to time, for trouble often compels a man to search his own heart. It reminds him that he is an exile here, and that he can put his trust in nothing in this world.
[tr. Sherley-Price (1952)]It's good for you to go through difficult times now and again, and to have your will thwarted; the effect is often to make a man think -- make him realize that he is living in exile, and it is no use relying upon any earthly support.
[tr. Knox-Oakley (1959)]It is a good thing that we have to face difficulties and opposition from time to time, because this brings us back to ourselves; it makes us realize that we are exiles and cannot pin our hopes on anything in this world.
[tr. Knott (1962)]It is good for us now and then to experience difficulties and adversity; for they make man realize again that he is an exile and should not put his hopes on any worldly thing.
[tr. Rooney (1979)]
It is characteristic of all deep human problems that they are not to be approached without some humor and some bewilderment.
Freeman Dyson (1923-2020) English-American theoretical physicist, mathematician, futurist
Disturbing the Universe, ch. 1 (1979)
(Source)
When a people are confronted with problems that are both incomprehensible and unbearable, they lash out not at those who contrived the problems but at those who expose them. When they are confronted by moral problems that they find insoluble, or perhaps intolerable, they blame the moralists. The anxieties, tensions, revulsions of our day create an atmosphere in which it is almost impossible to think clearly and dispassionately about just those problems which most imperatively require reason and objectivity — problems of adjustment to fundamental change.
Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Speech (1971-04-10), “The University and the Community of Learning,” Kent State University, Ohio
(Source)
Things get bad for all of us, almost continually, and what we do under the constant stress reveals who/what we are.
Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) German-American author, poet
What Matters Most is How Well You Walk Through the Fire (1999)
Some of you young folks been saying to me, “Hey Pops, what you mean ‘What a wonderful world’? How about all them wars all over the place? You call them wonderful? And how about hunger and pollution? That ain’t so wonderful either.” Well how about listening to old Pops for a minute. Seems to me, it aint the world that’s so bad but what we’re doin’ to it. And all I’m saying is, see, what a wonderful world it would be if only we’d give it a chance. Love, baby, love. That’s the secret, yeah. If lots more of us loved each other, we’d solve lots more problems. And then this world would be a gasser. That’s wha’ ol’ Pops keeps saying.
Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong (1900-1971) American musician
Spoken introduction to “What a Wonderful World” (1970)
(Source)
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 and author
One to One (1983)
It would seem … that man has been shocked by the war into forgetting how to be a political animal. This suspicion is confirmed by the spread of Fascism, which is a headlong flight into fantasy from the necessity for political thought. There is nothing more obvious about the post-war situation than that it is novel, springs from causes which have not yet been analysed, and cannot be relieved until this analysis is complete and has been made the basis of a new social formula. Yet persons supporting Fascism behave as if man were already in possession of principles which would enable him to deal with all our problems, and as if it were only a question of appointing a dictator to apply them.
Rebecca West (1892-1983) British author, journalist, literary critic, travel writer [pseud. for Cicily Isabel Fairfield]
“The Necessity and Grandeur of the International Ideal” (1934)
(Source)
Men have made an idol of luck as an excuse for their own thoughtlessness. Luck seldom measures swords with wisdom. Most things in life quick wit and sharp vision can set right.
Democritus (c. 460 BC - c. 370 BC) Greek philosopher
Frag. 119 (Diels) [tr. Bakewell (1907)]
(Source)
Bakewell lists this under "The Golden Sayings of Democritus." Freeman notes this as one of the Gnômae, from a collection called "Maxims of Democratês," but because Stobaeus quotes many of these as "Maxims of Democritus," they are generally attributed to the latter.Alternate translations:
- "Men have fashioned an image of Chance as an excuse for their own stupidity. For Chance rarely conflicts with intelligence, and most things in life can be set in order by an intelligent sharpsightedness." [tr. Freeman (1948)]
- "Men fashioned the image of chance as an excuse for their own thoughtlessness; for chance rarely fights with wisdom, and a man of intelligence will, by foresight, set straight most things in his life." [tr. Barnes (1987)]
What I need are problems I that I can eat my way out of.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #3730
And bad luck reveals those who are not real friends, but just happen to be so because of utility.
[ἡ δ᾽ ἀτυχία δηλοῖ τοὺς μὴ ὄντως [20] ὄντας φίλους, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ χρήσιμον τυχόντας.]
Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher
Eudemian Ethics [Ἠθικὰ Εὐδήμεια], Book 7, ch. 2 / 1238a.19-20 [tr. Reeve (2021)]
(Source)
(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:Misfortune shows those who are not really friends, but friends only for some accidental utility.
[tr. Solomon (1915)]Misfortune shows those who are not friends really but only because of some casual utility.
[tr. Rackham (1981)]But misfortune shows those who are friends not really but because of chance utility.
[tr. Simpson (2013)]
Necessity may well be called the mother of invention — but calamity is the test of integrity.
Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) English writer and printer
Clarissa, or, The History of a Young Lady, Letter 47 (1748)
(Source)
LONDO: Big concerns grow from small concerns. You plant them, water them with tears, fertilize them with unconcern. If you ignore them, they grow.
J. Michael (Joe) Straczynski (b. 1954) American screenwriter, producer, author [a/k/a "JMS"]
Babylon 5, 3×20 “And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place” (14 Oct 1996)
I also think living in the country gives you faith. All you have to do is get up and look at the mountains and look at the other animals to realize that your problems are mostly made up or exacerbated by humans. But human life isn’t necessarily life. There’s so much more out there.
There is something wrong with our world, something fundamentally and basically wrong. I don’t think we have to look too far to see that. I’m sure that most of you would agree with me in making that assertion. And when we stop to analyze the cause of our world’s ills, many things come to mind. We begin to wonder if it is due to the fact that we don’t know enough. But it can’t be that. Because in terms of accumulated knowledge we know more today than men have known in any period of human history. We have the facts at our disposal. We know more about mathematics, about science, about social science, and philosophy than we’ve ever known in any period of the world’s history. So it can’t be because we don’t know enough. And then we wonder if it is due to the fact that our scientific genius lags behind. That is, if we have not made enough progress scientifically. Well then, it can’t be that. For our scientific progress over the past years has been amazing. Man through his scientific genius has been able to warp distance and place time in chains, so that today it’s possible to eat breakfast in New York City and supper in London, England. Back in about 1753 it took a letter three days to go from New York City to Washington, and today you can go from here to China in less time than that. It can’t be because man is stagnant in his scientific progress. Man’s scientific genius has been amazing. I think we have to look much deeper than that if we are to find the real cause of man’s problems and the real cause of the world’s ills today. If we are to really find it I think we will have to look in the hearts and souls of men.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
“Rediscovering Lost Values,” Sermon, Second Baptist Church, Detroit (28 Feb 1954)
(Source)
I doubt if there is in the world a single problem, whether social, political, or economic, which would not find ready solution if men and nations would rule their lives according to the plain teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Letter (1938-06-15) to Rev. Daniel Poling, “Greeting to the World’s Christian Endeavor Convention in Melbourne, Australia”
(Source)
“Simple things are never problems,” I told her. “Unfortunate, maybe, but if it isn’t complicated, it isn’t really a problem.”
The Goddess nodded. “Very good, Vlad; I didn’t expect such wisdom from you.”
I grunted and didn’t tell her I was quoting my grandfather; I’d rather she stayed impressed.
Steven Brust (b. 1955) American writer, systems programmer
Issola (2001)
There ain’t any news in being good. You might write the doings of all the convents of the world on the back of a postage stamp, and have room to spare.
Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936) American humorist and journalist
(Attributed)
You can judge a leader by the size of the problem he tackles — people nearly always pick a problem their own size, and ignore or leave to others the bigger or smaller ones. The chief executive should be thinking about the long-term changes which will bring growth or decay to different parts of the enterprise, not fussing over day-to-day problems. Other people can cope with the waves, it’s his job to watch the tide.
Antony Jay (1930-2016) English writer, broadcaster, director
Management and Machiavelli: An Inquiry into the Politics of Corporate Life, ch. 17 (1967)
People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
A Treatise on Parents and Children (1910)
Poverty is the only burden which is not lightened by being shared with others.
Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825) German writer, art historian, philosopher, littérateur [Johann Paul Friedrich Richter; pseud. Jean Paul]
(Attributed)
(Source)
In Maturin M. Ballou, Edge-Tools of Speech (1886)
The Stream of Life sometimes glides smoothly on, through flowry meadows and enamell’d planes. At other times it draggs a winding reluctant Course through offensive Boggs and dismal gloomy Swamps. The same road now leads us thro’ a spacious Country fraught with evry delightful object, Then plunges us at once, into miry Sloughs, or stops our passage with craggy and inaccessible mountains. The free roving Songster of the forest, now rambles unconfin’d, and hopps from Spray to Spray but the next hour perhaps he alights to pick the scattered Grain and is entangled in the Snare. The Ship, which, wafted by a favourable gale, sails prosperously upon the peaceful Surface, by a sudden Change of weather may be tossed by the Tempest, and driven by furious, opposite winds, upon rocks or quicksands. In short nothing in this world enjoys a constant Series of Joy and prosperity.
John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Diary (1756-03-27)
(Source)
Substantial progress toward better things can rarely be taken without developing new evils requiring new remedies.
William Howard Taft (1857-1930) US President (1909-13) and Chief Justice (1921-1930)
Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers (1916)
English does not contain a suitable word for “system of problems.” Therefore, I have had to coin one. I choose to call such a system a mess.
Russell L. Ackoff (1919-2009) American organizational theorist, consultant, management scientist
Redesigning the Future (1974)
If you would not have affliction visit you twice, listen at once to what it teaches.
James Burgh (1714-1775) British politician and writer
(Attributed)
Science is as yet in its infancy, and we can foretell little of the future save that the thing that has not been is the thing that shall be; that no beliefs, no values, no institutions are safe. So far from being an isolated phenomenon the late war is only an example of the disruptive result that we may constantly expect from the progress of science. The future will be no primrose path. It will have its own problems. Some will be the secular problems of the past, giant flowers of evil blossoming at last to their own destruction. Others will be wholly new. Whether in the end man will survive his ascensions of power we cannot tell. But the problem is no new one. It is the old paradox of freedom re-enacted with mankind for actor and the earth for stage.
J.B.S. Haldane (1892-1964) English geneticist [John Burden Sanderson Haldane]
“Daedalus, or Science and the Future,” speech, Cambridge (24 Feb 1923)
(Source)
The cruelties and the obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress. This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.
Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968) American politician
“Day of Affirmation,” address, University of Capetown, South Africa (6 Jun 1966)
(Source)
For at least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice, and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity, idealism, dogmatism, and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols.
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
“Knowledge and Understanding,” Vedanta and the West (May-Jun 1956)
(Source)
Revision of a 1955 lecture given at the Vedanta Society of Southern California; this phrase, however, does not occur in it (the surrounding text is found around the 10:00 mark). Reprinted in Adonis and the Alphabet, and Other Essays (in the US Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, and Other Essays) (1956).
When we are strong, we are always much greater than the things that happen to us.
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) French-American religious and writer [a.k.a. Fr. M. Louis]
No Man Is an Island, 7.7 (1955)
We have no reason to harbor any mistrust against our world, for it is not against us. If it has terrors, they are our terrors; if it has abysses, these abysses belong to us; if there are dangers, we must try to love them. And if only we arrange our life in accordance with the principle which tells us that we must always trust in the difficult, then what now appears to us as the most alien will become our most intimate and trusted experience. How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at the beginning of all races, the myths about dragons that at the last moment are transformed into princesses? Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1963) German poet
Letters to a Young Poet, Letter 8, 12 Aug 1904 (1929)
(Source)
There are no problems which we cannot solve together, and very few that any of us can settle by himself.
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1964-11-28), Press Conference, LBJ Ranch, Johnson City, Texas
(Source)
Regarding the Atlantic Alliance (NATO). Variant: "There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves."
And we must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent or omniscient — that we are only six percent of the world’s population — that we cannot impose our will upon the other ninety-four percent of mankind — that we cannot right every wrong or reverse each adversity — and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, University of Washington, Seattle (16 Nov 1961)
Doubt is to certainty as neurosis is to psychosis. The neurotic is in doubt and has fears about persons and things; the psychotic has convictions and makes claims about them. In short, the neurotic has problems, the psychotic has solutions.
Thomas Szasz (1920-2012) Hungarian-American psychiatrist, educator
“Mental Illness,” The Second Sin (1973)
(Source)
When I look back on all these worries I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British statesman and author
The Second World War, Vol. 2: Their Finest Hour, ch. 23 “September Tensions” (1949)
(Source)
And I have again observed, my dear friend, in this trifling affair, that misunderstandings and neglect occasion more mischief in the world than even malice and wickedness. At all events, the two latter are of less frequent occurrence.
[Und ich habe, mein Lieber, wieder bei diesem kleinen Geschäft gefunden, dass Missverständnisse und Trägheit vielleicht mehr Irrungen in der Welt machen als List und Bosheit. Wenigstens sind die beiden letzteren gewiss seltener.]
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, statesman, scientist
Die Leiden des jungen Werthers [The Sorrows of Young Werther], “Letter from May 4th” (1774) [tr. Taylor]
(Source)
(Source (German)). Other translation:Misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and malice. At any rate, the last two are certainly much less frequent.
[tr. Mayor / Brogan]
Source of the (heavily paraphrased) "Why look for conspiracy when stupidity can explain so much?"
See also Hanlon's Razor.
Richard had noticed that events were cowards: they didn’t occur singly, but instead they would run in packs and leap out at him all at once.
Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Neverwhere, ch. 1 (1996; 2015 ed.)
(Source)
A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-American physicist
Letter (1946-05-25), quoted in “Atomic Education Urged by Einstein,” New York Times
(Source)
This may be the source of some otherwise unsourced Einstein quotes:The missive was sent by telegram to "several hundred prominent Americans."
- "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them"
- "The world we have created today as a result of our thinking thus far has problems which cannot be solved by thinking the way we thought when we created them."
- "The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking."
- "This problem will not be solved by the same minds that created it."
- "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."
- "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking that created them."
Einstein revisited (alt. source) this theme in "The Real Problem Is in the Hearts of Men," New York Times Magazine (1946-06-23): "Many persons have inquired concerning a recent message of mine that 'a new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels.' [...] Past thinking and methods did not prevent world wars. Future thinking must prevent wars."
Psychiatry enables us to correct our faults by confessing our parents’ shortcomings.
Lawrence J. Peter (1919-1990) American educator, management theorist
(Attributed)
It’s not easy taking my problems one at a time when they refuse to get in line.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots
Moralism is historically one of America’s great defects. Moralism is intolerant of ambiguity; it perceives reality in extreme terms of good and evil and regards more sophisticated judgments as soft and unworthy. The temptation to moralize is strong; it is emotionally satisfying to have enemies rather than problems, to seek out culprits rather than flaws in the system. God knows it is emotionally satisfying to be righteous with that righteousness that nourishes itself on the blood of sinners. But God also knows that what is emotionally satisfying can be spiritually devastating.
William Sloane Coffin, Jr. (1924-2006) American minister, social activist
The Courage to Love, Introduction (1982)
Adversity makes men; prosperity makes monsters.
[L’adversité fait l’homme, et le bonheur les monstres.]
Proverbs, Sayings, and Adages
French proverb
Variants:Often attributed to Victor Hugo, including from sources going back to the 19th Century (Ballou (1899)). I have not been able to find an actual citation or primary source.
- "Adversity makes men, but prosperity makes monsters."
- "Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters."
- "Prosperity makes monsters, but adversity makes men."
It is also widely noted as an anonymous or proverbial saying (e.g., 1809, 1818).
It may well be a French proverb that was incorrectly attributed to Hugo (who wrote quite a bit on the subjects of adversity and prosperity) in order to have a name to hang off of it.
Life is just one damn thing after another.
Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915) American writer, businessman, philosopher
The Philistine (1909-12)
(Source)
Elbert is likely not the first to express this, though he helped to popularize it. The phrase is presented in The Philistine in a list of aphorisms, uncredited and uncited. Hubbard was the editor of the magazine, and a presumed contributor. Soon collected in Hubbard's A Thousand & One Epigrams (1911).
The earliest documented forms of this phrase show up in 1909 in various periodicals (such as Hubbard's Philistine). Also in 1909, Lilian Bell published The Concentrations of Bee:“Bob has a motto on his wall which says ‘Life is just one damned thing after another!'” said Jimmie. But I refused to smile. I was too distinctly annoyed.
Note that the phrase is showing up (in the book) as second-hand, not necessarily as something Bell wrote.
The phrase is often attributed to Mark Twain. It is not found in Twain's works. The earliest attribution to him found is in H. L. Mencken, The American Language: A Preliminary Inquiry Into the Development of English in the United States, Sec. 9 (1919), where he says that the Twain is "commonly credited" with the phrase.
Variants:More information about this quotation: Life Is Just One Damn Thing After Another – Quote Investigator®
- "Life is just one damned thing after another."
- "Life is just one darn thing after another."
See Zelazny.
It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another — it’s one damn thing over & over — there’s the rub — first you get sick — then you get sicker — then you get not quite so sick — then you get hardly sick at all — then you get a little sicker — then you get a lot sicker — then you get not quite so sick — oh, hell.
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) American poet
Letter (1930-10-24) to Arthur Davison Ficke
(Source)
See Hubbard, Scalzi.
More information about this quotation: It’s Not True That Life Is One Damn Thing After Another—It’s One Damn Thing Over and Over – Quote Investigator®.
He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
“Of Innovations,” Essays, No. 24 (1625)
(Source)
Take no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
[μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε εἰς τὴν αὔριον, ἡ γὰρ αὔριον μεριμνήσει ἑαυτῆς· ἀρκετὸν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἡ κακία αὐτῆς.]
The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Matthew 6: 34 (Jesus) [KJV (1611)]
(Source)
This overall passage (Matt. 6:25-34) is paralleled in Luke 12:22-32, but this particular verse is unique to Matthew.
(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
[JB (1966)]So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.
[GNT (1976)]So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
[NJB (1985)]Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
[CEB (2011)]Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
[NIV (2011 ed.)]So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]
