“Misfortunes make us wise”
Source: The Borrowers Afield
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Mary Norton2
English children's writer 1903–1992Related quotes
“The role of reason is not to make us wise but to reveal our ignorance”
David Hume (1711–1776) Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian
Commonly attributed to Hume, but without any apparent basis.
Misattributed
“Misfortunes cannot suffice to make a fool into an intelligent man.”
Cesare Pavese (1908–1950) Italian poet, novelist, literary critic, and translator
This Business of Living (1935-1950)
“Children sweeten labors; but they make misfortunes more bitter.”
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and author
The Essays Or Counsels, Civil And Moral, Of Francis Ld. Verulam Viscount St. Albans (1625), Of Parents and Children
“We must each of us bear our own misfortunes.”
Charles Portis book True Grit
Source: True Grit (1968), Chapter 3, p. 32 : 'Colonel Stonehill'
Christopher Reeve (1952–2004) actor, director, producer, screenwriter
As quoted in Celebrities in Hell (2002) by Warren Allen Smith, p. 98
“Private misfortunes must never induce us to neglect public affairs.”
Alexandre Dumas book The Count of Monte Cristo
chapter 5 http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo/Chapter_5 <br class="br">The Count of Monte Cristo (1845–1846)