“The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true.”

This is actually James Branch Cabell from The Silver Stallion (1926)
Misattributed

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Oct. 27, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true." by Irving Caesar?
Irving Caesar photo
Irving Caesar 4
American composer and lyricist 1895–1996

Related quotes

James Branch Cabell photo

“The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true. So I elect for neither label.”

James Branch Cabell (1879–1958) American author

Coth, in Book Four : Coth at Porutsa, Ch. XXVI : The Realist in Defeat
Source: The Silver Stallion (1926)
Context: Yet creeds mean very little... The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true. So I elect for neither label.

Robert Oppenheimer photo

“The Optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds, the Pessimist fears it is true.”

Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967) American theoretical physicist and professor of physics

This is derived from a statement of James Branch Cabell, in The Silver Stallion (1926) : The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true.
Misattributed
Variant: The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true.

“The optimist believes that this is the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist fears that this might be the case.”

Ivar Ekeland (1944) French mathematician

Introduction, p. 1.
The Best of All Possible Worlds (2006)

Lewis Mumford photo

“I'm a pessimist about probabilities, I'm an optimist about possibilities.”

Lewis Mumford (1895–1990) American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic

As quoted in "Lewis Mumford Remembers" by Carey Winfrey in The New York Times (6 July 1977)

Shimon Peres photo

“Optimists and pessimists die the same way. They just live differently. I prefer to live as an optimist.”

Shimon Peres (1923–2016) Israeli politician, 8th prime minister and 9th president of Israel

As quoted in Serving "60 Years to Life", Newsweek Europe (12 December 2005)

David H. Levy photo

“To the optimist, pessimists are neurotic; to the pessimist, optimists are deluded.”

David H. Levy (1948) Canadian astronomer

Humor in Psychotherapy (2007)

Stanisław Jerzy Lec photo
Elbert Hubbard photo

“A pessimist is a man who has been compelled to live with an optimist.”

Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher fue el escritor del jarron azul

The Note Book of Elbert Hubbard (1927)

George Bernard Shaw photo

“Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.”

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright

Variant: Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.

Oscar Wilde photo

Related topics