“The moment when a man's head drops off is seldom or never, I am inclined to think, precisely the most agreeable of his life.”

—  Nathaniel Hawthorne, book The Scarlet Letter

Introduction: The Custom-House
The Scarlet Letter (1850)
Context: The moment when a man's head drops off is seldom or never, I am inclined to think, precisely the most agreeable of his life. Nevertheless, like the greater part of our misfortunes, even so serious a contingency brings its remedy and consolation with it, if the sufferer will but make the best, rather than the worst, of the accident which has befallen him.

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Nathaniel Hawthorne128
American novelist and short story writer (1804 – 1879) 1804–1864

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