“The most fortunate of us, in our journey through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes which may greatly afflict us; and, to fortify our minds against the attacks of these calamities and misfortunes, should be one of the principal studies and endeavours of our lives.”

— Thomas Jefferson

Letter to John Page (15 July 1763); published in The Works of Thomas Jefferson (1905)
1760s
Context: The most fortunate of us, in our journey through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes which may greatly afflict us; and, to fortify our minds against the attacks of these calamities and misfortunes, should be one of the principal studies and endeavours of our lives. The only method of doing this is to assume a perfect resignation to the Divine will, to consider that whatever does happen, must happen; and that by our uneasiness, we cannot prevent the blow before it does fall, but we may add to its force after it has fallen. These considerations, and others such as these, may enable us in some measure to surmount the difficulties thrown in our way; to bear up with a tolerable degree of patience under this burthen of life; and to proceed with a pious and unshaken resignation, till we arrive at our journey’s end, when we may deliver up our trust into the hands of him who gave it, and receive such reward as to him shall seem proportioned to our merit. Such, dear Page, will be the language of the man who considers his situation in this life, and such should be the language of every man who would wish to render that situation as easy as the nature of it will admit. Few things will disturb him at all: nothing will disturb him much.

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Thomas Jefferson 456

3rd President of the United States of America 1743–1826

Charles Portis book True Grit

Source: True Grit (1968), Chapter 3, p. 32 : 'Colonel Stonehill'

“In the service no distinction should be made between man and man. We have to serve all, be he a Christian or a Muslim, or a human being of any other persuasion; for calamities, distress and misfortunes make no such distinction but afflict all alike. And in serving to relieve the sufferings of man, let it not be in a spirit of condescension or mere compassion, but in the true spirit of our dharma of surrendering our all in the humble service of Lord who abides in the hearts of all beings.”

M. S. Golwalkar (1906–1973) second head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Quoted from Talreja, K. M. (2000). Holy Vedas and holy Bible: A comparative study. New Delhi: Rashtriya Chetana Sangathan.

“The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.”

Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer, historian, and philosopher

“Such are the vicissitudes of our mortal lot: misfortune is born of prosperity, and good fortune of ill-luck.”
Habet has vices conditio mortalium, ut adversa ex secundis, ex adversis secunda nascantur.

Pliny the Younger (61–113) Roman writer

V.
Panegyricus

“Almost all our misfortunes in life come from the wrong notions we have about the things that happen to us.”

Stendhal (1783–1842) French writer

Journal entry (10 December 1801)
Context: Almost all our misfortunes in life come from the wrong notions we have about the things that happen to us. To know men thoroughly, to judge events sanely, is, therefore, a great step towards happiness.

“Let us put away our sins; the real ground of all our calamities! Which never will or can be thoroughly removed, till we fear God and honour the King.”

John Wesley (1703–1791) Christian theologian

A Calm Address to our American Colonies (1775), pp. 17–18.
1770s

“Fortune is not satisfied with inflicting one calamity.”

Publilio Siro Latin writer

Maxim 274
Sentences, The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave

“As a country, which is unfortunately frequented by natural calamities many times over in a year, we should already build, establish and continuously strengthen the capacity of our rescue forces so we can easily mobilize forces to avoid loss of lives and properties.”

Francis Escudero (1969) Filipino politician

Madyaas Pen http://madyaaspen.blogspot.com/2011/10/institutionalizing-search-and-rescue.html
2011

“After all, our lives are but a sequence of accidents - a clanking chain of chance events. A string of choices, casual or deliberate, which add up to that one big calamity we call life.”

Rohinton Mistry A Fine Balance

Source: A Fine Balance

“Among the sources of those innumerable calamities which from age to age have overwhelmed mankind, may be reckoned as one of the principal the abuse of words.”

George Horne (1730–1792) English churchman, writer and university administrator

Olla Podrida, No. 7 http://books.google.com/books?id=JSkTAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA133, Saturday, August 18. 1787
Prose Quotations from Socrates to Macaulay, 1880

“The most fortunate of us, in our journey through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes which may greatly afflict us; and, to fortify our minds against the attacks of these calamities and misfortunes, should be one of the principal studies and endeavours of our lives.”

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