#Misfortune

"Great minds have purpose, others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them."

"[W]hen someone finds himself quite unjustly attacked and hated on all sides, there is no need for such a person to feel dismayed by misfortune. See how Fortune, who has harmed many a one, is so inconstant, for God, Who opposes all wrong deeds, raises up those in whom hope dwells."

"That’s how stories happen — with a turning point, an unexpected twist. There’s only one kind of happiness, but misfortune comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story."

"Unseen in the background, Fate was quietly slipping lead into the boxing-glove."

"Mike nodded. A sombre nod. The nod Napoleon might have given if somebody had met him in 1812 and said, "So, you're back from Moscow, eh?"

"The man with the real sense of humor is the man who can put himself in the spectator's place and laugh at his own misfortune."