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MISFORTUNE
MISINTERPRETATION
MISJUDGMENTS --- MISSIONARIES --- MISSOURI

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MISFORTUNE

see "UNHAPPINESS" for related links


There are some vile and contemptible men who, allowing
themselves to be conquered by misfortune, seek a refuge
in death.
--Agathon (c. 448—400 BC)
Athenian tragic poet.

I am convinced we have a degree of delight, and that no
small one, in the real misfortunes and pains of others.
--Edmund Burke (1729—1797)
Irish-born Whig politician and man of letters.
_On the Sublime and Beautiful_,
in "The Harvard Classics" [1909-1914].

The mind which does not wholly sink under misfortune rises above
it more lofty than before, and is strengthened by affliction.
--Richard Chenevix (1774—1830)
Irish poet and scholar

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every
man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of
which all men have some.
--Charles Dickens (1812—1870)
English novelist.

If Gladstone fell into the Thames, that would be
misfortune; and if anybody pulled him out, that,
I suppose, would be a calamity.
--Benjamin Disraeli (1804—1881)
British Tory statesman, novelist, and
Prime Minister [1868, 1874-1880].
In Leon Harris _The Fine Art of Political Wit_ [1965].

To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is a sign of
want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one's
education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor
others shows that one's education is complete.
--Epictetus (55—135)
Greek philosopher.

If Mr. Selwyn calls again, show him up: if I am
alive, I shall be delighted to see him; and if I
am dead, he will be delighted to see me.
--Henry Fox [Baron Holland of Foxley] (1705—1774)
English Whig politician.

See me, how calm I am.
Ay, people are generally calm at the misfortunes of others.
--Oliver Goldsmith (1728—1774)
Anglo-Irish writer, poet, and dramatist.

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MISFORTUNES NEVER COME SINGLY

Making toast at the fireside,
Nurse fell in the grate and died;
And what makes it ten times worse,
All the toast was burned with nurse.
--Harry Graham (1874—1936)
British writer and journalist.
_Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes_ [1899]

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Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune,
but great minds rise above it.
--Washington Irving (1783—1859)
American writer.
_The Sketch Book_ [1819-1820],
(p. 327 of the 1894 edition, edited by Elmer Ellsworth Wentworth.)

Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to
overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.
--William James (1842—1910)
American philosopher.

Depend upon it that if a man talks of his misfortunes there
is something in them that is not disagreeable to him; for
where there is nothing but pure misery there never is
any recourse to the mention of it.
--Samuel Johnson (1709—1784)
English poet, critic, and lexicographer.
In James Boswell _The Life of Samuel Johnson_ [1791].

We all have strength enough to endure
the misfortunes of others.
--Franηois de La Rochefoucauld (1613—1680)
French classical author.
_Reflections; or, Sentences and Moral Maxims_ [1678];
maxim 19

boss there is always
a comforting thought
in time of trouble when
it is not our trouble.
--Don Marquis (1878—1937)
American poet and journalist.
_archy does his part_ [1935]

It is a good thing to learn caution by the misfortunes of others.
--Publilius Syrus (85—43 B.C.)
Latin writer of mimes who was originally a slave.

You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing
is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to
give.
--Eleanor Roosevelt (1884—1962)
American human rights activist, diplomat, and
wife of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.
--William Shakespeare (1564—1616)
English dramatist.
_The Tempest_ [1611—1612]

To an envious man, nothing is more delightful than
another's misfortune, and nothing more painful
than another's success.
--Benedict de Spinoza (1632—1677)
Dutch-Jewish philosopher, the foremost exponent
of 17th century Rationalism.
_Ethics_ [1677], "Man's Loves And Hates"

The fatal law of gravity: when you are
down everything falls on you.
--attributed to Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893—1978)
English writer.

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Misfortunes one can endure: they come from outside,
they are accidents. But to suffer for one's own
faults — ah! there is the sting of life.
--Oscar Wilde (1854—1900)
Anglo-Irish dramatist and poet.
_Lady Windermere's Fan_ [1892]


Philosophy may teach us to bear with equanimity
the misfortunes of our neighbors.
--Oscar Wilde (1854—1900)
Anglo-Irish dramatist and poet.
_The English Renaissance of Art_ [1882]

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schadenfreude (noun) ['shahd-n-froi-dκ]
Mischief-joy, pleasure in the misfortune of others.



MISINTERPRETATION

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see "COMMUNICATION" for related links


Much unhappiness has come into the world
because of bewilderment and things left
unsaid.
--Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821—1881)
Russian novelist, journalist, and short story writer.

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I'm not sure people understood a lot of what I was
writing about. I don't even know if I would understand
them if I believed everything that has been written
about them by imbeciles who wouldn't know the first
thing about writing songs. I've always said the
organized media propagated me as something I never
pretended to be . . . all this spokesman of conscience
thing. A lot of my songs were definitely misinterpreted
by people who didn't know any better, and it goes on
today.

Q: Give me an example of a song that has been widely
misinterpreted.

A: Take "Masters of War." Every time I sing it, someone
writes that it's an antiwar song. But there's no antiwar
sentiment in that song. I'm not a pacifist. I don't
think I've ever been one. If you look closely at the song,
it's about what Eisenhower was saying about the dangers
of the military-industrial complex in this country. I
believe strongly in everyone's right to defend themselves
by every means necessary.

--Bob Dylan [Robert Allen Zimmerman] (1941— )
American singer and songwriter.

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MISJUDGMENTS

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see "MISTAKES" for related links


Iran under the great leadershop of the Shah is an island of
stability in one of the most troubled areas of the world. This
is a great tribute to you, your Majesty, and to your leadership
and to the respect, admiration, and love which your people
give to you.
--Jimmy Carter (1924— )
American Democratic statesman, President [1977—1981].
Toasting the Shah a year before he was deposed, Tehran [31 December 1977].

In spite of the hardness and ruthlessness I thought I saw in his [Hitler's] face,
I got the impression that here was a man who could be relied upon when he
had given his word.
--Neville Chamberlain (1869—1940)
British Conservative politician, Prime Minister [1937—1940].
After returning from the Munich Conference in 1938.

You'll never get anywhere with all those
damn little short sentences.
--Greg Clark,
Remark to fellow "Toronto Star" reporter
Ernest Hemingway early in his career.

"Gone with the Wind" is going to be the biggest flop
in Hollywood history. I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable
who's falling flat on his face and not Gary Cooper.
--Gary Cooper (1901—1961)
American film actor.
After Gable's acceptance of the Rhett Butler role Cooper had turned down,
in Larry Swindell _The Last Hero: A Biography of Gary Cooper_ [1980].

You ain't goin' nowhere with *that,* son.
You ought to go back to drivin' a truck.
--Jim Denny,
"Grand Ole Opry" booking agent.
Remark to Elvis Presley after hearing his first "Opry" performance.

I do not consider Hitler as bad as he is depicted.
He is showing an ability that is amazing, and he
seems to be gaining his victories without much
bloodshed.
--Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869—1948)
Indian statesman and leader of the nationalistic
movement against British rule.
May 1940 remark.
In Robert Payne _The Life and Death of Mahatma Gandhi_ [1969].

The energy produced by the atom is a very poor kind of thing.
Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation
of these atoms is talking moonshine.
--Lord Ernest Rutherford (1871—1937)
British physicist and winner of the 1908 Nobel Prize.
(September 1933, soon after the first experimental
splitting of the atom - Q.)

Louis, forget it. No Civil War picture ever made a nickle.
--Irving Thalberg (1899—1936)
American film producer.
Remark to Louis B. Mayer on hearing about plans
to make "Gone with the Wind."




MISSIONARIES

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see "RELIGION" for related links

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They were white. And they were missionaries. But they
meant to bring basic health care and safe water as well
as Christianity; they felt that the gospel's call to "preach
good news to the poor" referred at least as much to
reducing poverty on earth as to uplifting the poor in
spirit. "You can't spiritualize that passage," Paul, the
father, tall, sturdy, and bearded, believed. "You can't
just go around telling people Jesus loves you, so
everything'll be hunky-dory if you have faith in Him.
You can't just tell people this world is not my home.
The gospel means action as well as words. The biblical
mandate is to treat the whole person, not to divide things
into the spiritual and the material. I want to build water
systems so little kids will stop shitting themselves to
death."

"Lord," he wrote in a booklet of prayers, published by
his church back in the States, "Lord, give me a heart
that breaks."

--Daniel Bergner,
_In the Land of Magic Soldiers: A Story of Black and White_ [2003]

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The gods of the Disc have never bothered much about judging the
souls of the dead, and so people only go to hell if that's where
they believe, in their deepest heart, that they deserve to go.
Which they won't do if they don't know about it. This explains
why it is so important to shoot missionaries on sight.
--Terry Pratchett (1948— )
English science fiction writer.

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In this region of Travancore [southwestern India]
where I now am ... I made Christians of more than
ten thousand. This is the method I have followed. As
soon as I arrived in any heathen village where they
had sent for me to give baptisms, I gave orders for all
men, women and children to be collected in one
place. Then, beginning with the first elements of the
Christian faith, I taught them there is one God -
father, son and holy ghost — and at the same time ...
I made them each make three times the sign of the
cross. Then, putting on a surplice, I began to recite
in a loud voice and in their own language the form
of a general confession, the apostles' creed, the ten
commandments [and] the Lord's prayer ... Where
the people appeared to me sufficiently instructed to
receive baptism, I ordered them all to ask God's
pardon publicly for the sins of their past life, and to
do this with a loud voice and in the presence of their
neighbors still hostile to the Christian religion ...
Then at last I baptize them in due form and I give to
each his name written on a ticket. After their
baptism, the new Christians go back to their houses
and bring me their wives and families for baptism.
When all are baptized, I order all the temples of their
false gods to be destroyed and all the idols to be
broken in pieces. I can give you no idea of the joy I
find in seeing this done.

--St. Francis Xavier (1506—1552)
Roman Catholic missionary.
(To the Jesuit fathers at Rome from Cochin, India, [27 January 1545]),
in H.J. Coleridge _The Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier_ [1886]
Vol. 1, pp. 280—281.

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Missionary: A man chosen to give ferocious cannibals their
first taste of religion.

Missionary: A man who teaches cannibals to say grace
before they eat him.



Click picture to ZOOM
MISSOURI

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A Missourian gets used to Southerners thinking him a Yankee,
a Northerner considering him a cracker, a Westerner sneering
at his effete Easternness, and the Easterner taking him for a
cowhand.
--William Least Heat Moon [Bill Trogdon] (1939— )
American author.


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