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.

There is no greater grief than to remember days of joy when misery is at hand.

There is no greater grief than to remember days of joy when misery is at hand.

We ought never to scoff at the wretched, for who can be sure of
continued happiness?
[Fr., Il read more

We ought never to scoff at the wretched, for who can be sure of
continued happiness?
[Fr., Il ne se faut jamais moquer des miserables,
Car qui peut s'assurer d'etre toujours heureux?]

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?

Marriage enlarges the scene of our happiness and of our miseries. A marriage of love is pleasant, of interest, easy, read more

Marriage enlarges the scene of our happiness and of our miseries. A marriage of love is pleasant, of interest, easy, and where both meet, happy. A happy marriage has in it all the pleasures of friendship, all the enjoyments of sense and reason, and,

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.

All of which misery I saw, part of which I was.
[Lat., Quaeque ipse misserrima vidi, et quorum pars read more

All of which misery I saw, part of which I was.
[Lat., Quaeque ipse misserrima vidi, et quorum pars magna fui.]

Hope is the physician of each misery.

Hope is the physician of each misery.

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.