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“It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful.”

Anton LaVey (1930–1997) Founder of the Church of Satan, author of the Satanic Bible

The Nine Satanic Sins (1987)

“The world laughs at another man's pain.”

José Rizal (1861–1896) Filipino writer, ophthalmologist, polyglot and nationalist

"Song of the Wanderer", st.8 - translated by Nick Joaquin.

“No medical school has a pain curriculum…”

John Bonica (1917–1994) Anesthesiologist; pioneer in pain management

As quoted by Richard Weiner, "An interview with John J. Bonica, M.D." Pain Practitioner 1 (1989):2

“To prolong pain is to miss the next lesson.”

Yahia Lababidi (1973)

Signposts to Elsewhere (2008)

“Pleasure is nothing else but the intermission of pain.”

John Selden (1584–1654) English jurist and scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution, and of Jewish law

Pleasure.
Table Talk (1689)

“Liberation is thus a childbirth, and a painful one.”

Paulo Freire (1921–1997) educator and philosopher

Source: Pedagogia do oprimido (Pedagogy of the Oppressed) (1968, English trans. 1970), Chapter 1, on the oppressed

“Pain is the opposite of strength, and so is anger.”

Marcus Aurelius book Meditations

Hays translation
XI, 18
Meditations (c. AD 121–180), Book XI

“Much of your pain is self-chosen.”

Khalil Gibran book The Prophet

Source: kniha The Prophet (Prorok), báseň On pain (O bolesti)

“I want play but back hurt. If I no can play good, I no help team. So I wait until pain goes away. I no swing bat good, no run good, no catch ball like old times. I try but pain, she too much. Some days, no pain. Other days, pain all time. Some days pain so much I theenk maybe I quit baseball. But I need money so I play baseball.”

Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player

As quoted and paraphrased in "Aching Back Puts Clemente On Bench Again" https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nUEqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BU4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7330%2C2562781 by Les Biederman, in The Pittsburgh Press (Friday, July 26, 1957), p. 20 <br class="br">Baseball-related, <big><big>1950s</big></big>, <big>1957</big> <br class="br">Context: "I want play but back hurt. If I no can play good, I no help team. So I wait until pain goes away. I no swing bat good, no run good, no catch ball like old times. I try but pain, she too much. Some days, no pain. Other days, pain all time. Some days pain so much I theenk maybe I quit baseball. But I need money so I play baseball." Clemente doesn't even want to think of an operation on his back. He says he had two brothers and a sister who died following surgery and his family opposes operations.

“From the moment of my birth, I lived with pain at the center of my life. My only purpose in life was to find a way to coexist with intense pain.”

Haruki Murakami book The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Source: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

“May be she’ll learn something about what death really is, which is where the pain stops and the good memories begin. Not the end of life but the end of pain.”

Stephen King book Pet Sematary

Source: Pet Sematary

“Codependents are reactionaries. They overreact. They under-react. But rarely do they act. They react to the problems, pains, lives, and behaviors of others. They react to their own problems, pains, and behaviors.”

Melody Beattie (1948) American writer

Source: Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself

“I think about the meaning of pain. Pain is personal. It really belongs to the one feeling it. Probably the only thing that is your own. I like mine.”

Henry Rollins (1961) American singer-songwriter

“Pain is a gift. Humanity, without pain, would know neither fear nor pity. Without fear, there could be no humility, and every man would be a monster. The recognition of pain and fear in others give rise in us to pity, and in our pity is our humanity, our redemption.”

Dean Koontz book Velocity

Source: Velocity (2005), Chapter 54

“On one side was the pain of the victims of the earthquake, and on the other the pain of the victims of the riots. In decisively confronting this great turmoil, I had to single-mindedly focus all the strength given to me by the almighty, on the task of peace, justice and rehabilitation; burying the pain and agony I was personally wracked with.”

Narendra Modi (1950) Prime Minister of India

2013, "Satyameva Jayate: Truth Alone Triumphs", 2013

“Homeland security will make America not only stronger, but, in many ways, better. Knowledge gained from bioterrorism research will improve public health. Stronger police and fire departments will mean safer neighborhoods. Stricter border enforcement will help combat illegal drugs. And as government works to better secure our homeland, America will continue to depend on the eyes and ears of alert citizens.”

George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States

2000s, 2002, State of the Union address (January 2002)

“Innovation is important; it has transformed the lives of everyone in the world. And intellectual property laws can and should play a role in stimulating innovation. However, the contention that stronger intellectual property rights always boost economic performance is not in general correct. It is an example of how special interests—those who benefit from stronger intellectual property rights—use simplistic ideology to advance their causes.”

Joseph E. Stiglitz book Making Globalization Work

§4, p. 106
Making globalization work (2006)

“The man did not move because only immobility could hurt more than motion: the man held himself still because to move might lessen his suffering, and that he could not bear. For him only pain had meaning.”

Matthew Stover book Blade of Tyshalle

(XII.1) Del Rey, p. 408
Blade of Tyshalle (2001)

“The Rev. Jesse Jackson once said, “There is nothing more painful for me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery—then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.”

Walter E. Williams (1936) American economist, commentator, and academic

2010s, American Contempt for Liberty (2015)

“I think what informs my songwriting is my empathy with that. Maybe that’s what bothers people. It scares them to go to the edge of the well and look in. But it’s what they like also. And wouldn’t you rather feel the pain than not feel anything?”

Lucinda Williams (1953) American rock, folk, blues, and country music singer, songwriter and musician

On how suicide, sadness and melancholia informs Williams’ songwriting in “Lucinda Williams interview: 'I’ve earned the right to say what I like’” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/worldfolkandjazz/10074160/Lucinda-Williams-interview-Ive-earned-the-right-to-say-what-I-like.html in The Telegraph (2013 May 25)