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?

If misery loves company, misery has company enough.

If misery loves company, misery has company enough.

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.

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?]

It is seldom that the miserable of the world can help regarding their misery as a wrong inflicted by those read more

It is seldom that the miserable of the world can help regarding their misery as a wrong inflicted by those who are less miserable.

I have always held firmly to the thought that each one of us can do a little to bring some read more

I have always held firmly to the thought that each one of us can do a little to bring some portion of misery to an end.

Man is only miserable so far as he thinks himself so.

Man is only miserable so far as he thinks himself so.

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.

Grim-visaged, comfortless despair.

Grim-visaged, comfortless despair.