Indifference to fate which, though it often makes a villain of a man, is the basis of his sublimity when it does not.
Thomas HardyI may do some good before I am dead--be a sort of success as a frightful example of what not to do; and so illustrate a moral story.
Thomas HardyPessimism is playing the sure game. You cannot lose at it; you may gain. It is the only view of life in which you can never be disappointed. Having reckoned what to do in the worst possible circumstances, when better arise, as they may, life becomes child's play.
Thomas Hardy