“People who had, in the past, suffered from technophobia suffered even more. Others took other positions. Things were not so bad. Things could be worse. Worse things could be imagined. Worse things had been endured and triumphed over, in the past. This was not the worst. The worst was yet to come.”

“There are worse things than losing an election; the worst thing is to lose one's convictions and not tell the people the truth.”

“Somehow, something always happens just before things get to the very worst. It is as if Magic did it. If I could only just remember that always. The worse thing never quite comes.”

“So [things have] gradually and gradually [gotten] worse and worse until the country is absolutely on the rocks now, and the people are suffering. And this is our hope, because so many people are suffering, have been persecuted and have been told "Get into line, or else", and they know what 'or else' means.”

“When things are at their blackest, I say to myself, 'Cheer up, things could be worse.' And sure enough, they get worse.”

“If a rumor comes out that I’m gay, I could care less. There are so many worse things that they could be saying.”

“I'll clue you in on a secret: death is not the worst thing that could happen to you. I know we think that; we are the first society ever to think that. It's not worse than dishonor; it's not worse than losing your freedom; its not worse than losing a sense of personal responsibility.”

“Later he had seen the things that he could never think of and later still he had seen much worse.”

“Jack considered: there were worse things that could happen than him dying. Of course, there were much better things, too.”

“Things could always be worse. In fact, the overwhelming odds are that they will be.”