Thou tamer of the human breast,
Whose iron scourge and tort'ring hour
The bad affright, afflict the read more

Thou tamer of the human breast,
Whose iron scourge and tort'ring hour
The bad affright, afflict the best!

In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.

In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.

And these vicissitudes come best in youth;
For when they happen at a riper age,
People are read more

And these vicissitudes come best in youth;
For when they happen at a riper age,
People are apt to blame the Fates, forsooth,
And wonder Providence is not more sage.
Adversity is the first path to truth:
He who hath proved war, storm, or woman's rage,
Whether his winters be eighteen or eighty,
Has won experience which is deem'd so weighty.

By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity--another man's I mean.

By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity--another man's I mean.

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them.

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them.

Is made more sacred by adversity.

Is made more sacred by adversity.

What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.

What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.

The Good are better made by Ill,
As odours crushed are sweeter still.

The Good are better made by Ill,
As odours crushed are sweeter still.

Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; adversity not without many comforts and hopes.

Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; adversity not without many comforts and hopes.