Quotes About Adversity

Man's chief goal in life is still to become and stay human, and defend his achievements against the encroachment of nature.

Circumstances rule men and not men rule circumstances.

Disaster appears, to crush one man now, but afterward another.

The life of men is painful.

The war had made a man of him! It had coarsened him and hardened him. There was no other way to look at it. It had made him reach a point at which he would no longer stand unbearable things.

There is no accident so unfortunate but wise men will make some advantage of it, nor any so entirely fortunate but fools may turn it to their own prejudice.

The highest type of free men should be sought where the highest resistance is constantly overcome: five steps from tyranny, close to the threshold of the danger of servitude.

I love all who are like heavy drops falling one by one out of the dark cloud that lowereth over man: they herald the coming of the lightning, and succumb as heralds.

Vast, colossal destiny, which raises man to fame, though it may also grind him to powder!

The great man is not the child of his age but its step-child.

There is a nick in Fortune's restless wheel For each man's good.

Every ill man hath his ill day.

The life of man is a winter way.

There are more men threatned then stricken. [There are more men threatened than stricken.]

Threatned men eat bread, says the Spaniard.

Some men are like oak leaves -- they don't know when they're dead, but still hang right on; and there are others who let go before anything has really touched them.

For this, deep waters whelm the fruitful lea, Wars ravage, famine wastes, plague withers, nor Shall cease till men have chosen the better part.

No one ever gets too big to make mistakes. The secret is that the big man is greater than his mistakes, because he rises right out of them and passes beyond them.

A frightened man is a beaten man.

The pursuit of the difficult makes men strong

If a man is to lose his fortune, it is a good thing if he were poor before he acquired it, for poverty requires aptitude.

Circumstances break men's bones; it has never been shown that they break men's optimism.

The comedy of man survives the tragedy of man.

I'm so glad to be grouped with the men you've seen in rotten shape. My hope is that someday I will reach the pinnacle of that appalling list.