“"The bread of the stranger is bitter," says Dante, "and his staircase hard to climb." But who can know what the bitterness of dependence is so well as the poor companion of an old lady of quality?”
II.
The Queen of Spades (1833)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Aleksandr Pushkin 33
Russian poet 1799–1837Related quotes

“Sweetness of life depends to its bitterness.”
Quoted in Humor & Caricature (September 1995), p. 3

“The enmity of one's kindred is far more bitter than the enmity of strangers.”
Source Book in Ancient Philosophy (1907), The Golden Sayings of Democritus

Answer to "Why are you always perceived as the bad guy?" "Spiegel Interview" http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,684789-4,00.html

“Altars are trimmed, and the poor suffer the bitter pangs of hunger.”
in Man on His Own (1970), p. 120

"The pool", p. 127
Short Stories, Collected short stories 1
Source: Gormenghast (1950), Chapter 69 (p. 743)