Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery's shadow or reflection: the fact that you don't merely suffer read more

Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery's shadow or reflection: the fact that you don't merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.

Meagre were his looks,
Sharp misery had worn him to the bones;
And in his needy shop read more

Meagre were his looks,
Sharp misery had worn him to the bones;
And in his needy shop a tortoise hung,
An alligator stuffed, and other skins
Of ill-shaped fishes; and about his shelves
A beggarly account of boxes,
Green earthen pots, bladders, and musty seeds,
Remnants of packthread, and old cakes of roses
Were thinly scattered, to make up a show.

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the read more

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

No, misery makes sport to mock itself.

No, misery makes sport to mock itself.

Sweet recreation barred, what doth ensue
But moody and dull melancholy,
Kinsman to a grim and comfortless read more

Sweet recreation barred, what doth ensue
But moody and dull melancholy,
Kinsman to a grim and comfortless despair,
And at her heels a huge infectious troop
Of pale distemperatures and foes to life?

There are a good many real miseries in life that we cannot help
smiling at, but they are the read more

There are a good many real miseries in life that we cannot help
smiling at, but they are the smiles that make wrinkles and not
dimples.

And bear about the mockery of woe
To midnight dances and the public show.

And bear about the mockery of woe
To midnight dances and the public show.

I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains

I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains

Friends love misery, in fact. Sometimes, especially if we are too lucky or too successful or too pretty, our misery read more

Friends love misery, in fact. Sometimes, especially if we are too lucky or too successful or too pretty, our misery is the only thing that endears us to our friends.