#pessimism

The man who is a pessimist before 48 knows too much; if he is an optimist after it he knows too little. ↗

— Mark Twain

#pessimism #optimism

The optimist lives on the peninsula of infinite possibilities; the pessimist is stranded on the island of perpetual indecision. ↗

— William Arthur Ward

#pessimism #optimism

Keep a light, hopeful heart. But ­expect the worst. ↗

— Joyce Carol Oates

#hope #optimism #pessimism #pragmatism #worst

If you reach for the stars, you just might land on a decently sized hill. ↗

— Stuart Hill

#pessimism #accomplishments

I particularly scorn my fondness for paradox. I despise pessimism, narcissism, solipsism, truculence, word-play, and pusillanimity, my chiefer inclinations; loathe self-loathers ergo me; have no pity for self-pity and so am free of that sweet baseness. I doubt I am. Being me’s no joke. ↗

— John Barth

#paradox #pessimism

But suspense presupposes uncertainty. No matter how nightmarish the situation, real suspense is impossible when we know in advance that the protagonist will prevail (as we would if Woolrich had used series characters) or will be destroyed. This is why, despite his congenital pessimism, Woolrich manages any number of times to squeeze out an upbeat resolution. Precisely because we can never know whether a particular novel or story will be light or dark, allegre or noir, his work remains hauntingly suspenseful. ("Introduction") ↗

— Francis M. Nevins

#noir #noir-fiction #suspense #pessimism

A pessimist is a man who thinks everybody is as nasty as himself, and hates them for it. ↗

— George Bernard Shaw

#humor #optimism #pessimism #funny

Those might not be the very best judges of the relation of religion to happiness who, by their own account, had neither one nor the other. ↗

— G.K. Chesterton

#pessimism #skepticism #faith

You'll never find a rainbow if you're looking down ↗

— Charles Chaplin

#optimism #pessimism #wonder #inspirational

Y al final dejó el horror de esta vida para entrar en el horror de la muerte. ↗

— Fernando Vallejo

#life #pessimism #death