But reassurance can be the cruellest antidote to anxiety. Our rosy predictions both leave the anxious unprepared for the worst, and unwittingly imply that it would be disastrous if the worst came to pass. Seneca more wisely asks us to consider that bad things probably will occur, but adds that they are unlikely ever to be as bad as we fear.
Alain de Botton (b. 1969) Swiss-British author The Consolations of Philosophy, ch. 3 “Consolation for Frustration” (2000)
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BENDIS: We’re gonna die.
MAL: We’re not gonna die. We can’t die, Bendis. You know why? Because we are so — very — pretty. We are just too pretty for God to let us die.
Joss Whedon (b. 1964) American screenwriter, author, producer [Joseph Hill Whedon] Firefly, 1×01 “Serenity” (pilot) (20 Dec 2002)
Later, he wondered if he could have changed things, if that gesture would have done any good, if it could have averted any of the harm that was to come. He told himself it wouldn’t. He knew it wouldn’t. But still, afterward, he wished that, just for a moment on that slow flight home, he had touched Wednesday’s hand.
Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British fabulist American Gods, Part 2, ch. 10 (2001)
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