{ "type": "topic", "site": { "name": "Leafy Quotes", "language": "en", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com" }, "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.", "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism", "heading": "Quotes about pessimism", "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism.json", "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism.md", "quotes_count": 66, "authors_count": 37, "parent": null, "children": [ { "name": "complaining", "slug": "complaining", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/complaining", "heading": "Quotes about complaining" } ], "quotes": [ { "id": "88d64b28-160b-4e0e-a441-9f09eee5c84b", "slug": "anybody-who-thinks", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/athol-fugard/master-harold-and-the-boys/anybody-who-thinks", "text": "Anybody who thinks there's nothing wrong with this world needs to have his head examined. Just when things are going all right, without fail someone or something will come along and spoil everything. Somebody should write that down as a fundamental law of the Universe. The principle of perpetual disappointment. If there is a God who created this world, he should scrap it and try again.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Athol Fugard", "slug": "athol-fugard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/athol-fugard" }, "book": { "title": "MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS", "slug": "master-harold-and-the-boys", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/athol-fugard/master-harold-and-the-boys" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "disappointment", "slug": "disappointment", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/disappointment" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Athol_Fugard#%22Master_Harold%22...and_the_Boys_(1982)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:18" }, { "id": "4067d77e-15f3-4a33-8cc3-6118c24363f3", "slug": "a-crisis-passed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn/good-neighbors-and-other-strangers/a-crisis-passed", "text": "A crisis passed usually means another one approached.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edgar Pangborn", "slug": "edgar-pangborn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn" }, "book": { "title": "Good Neighbors and Other Strangers", "slug": "good-neighbors-and-other-strangers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn/good-neighbors-and-other-strangers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 82, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edgar_Pangborn#Good_Neighbors_and_Other_Strangers_(1972)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:40" }, { "id": "580ccb49-8db9-4582-abc4-4ab90bf24196", "slug": "ive-looked-deeply", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-eddings/the-redemption-of-althalus/ive-looked-deeply", "text": "“I’ve looked deeply into the hearts of my fellow men, [...] and to be honest with you, I’d rather look into a cesspool.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Eddings", "slug": "david-eddings", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-eddings" }, "book": { "title": "The Redemption of Althalus", "slug": "the-redemption-of-althalus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-eddings/the-redemption-of-althalus" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "human nature", "slug": "human-nature", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/human-nature" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Eddings#Part_VI_cap_37", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:23" }, { "id": "e067ab87-2beb-409c-9c4e-5a7a333774cc", "slug": "the-trouble-is-he-said", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/eric/the-trouble-is-he-said", "text": "\"The trouble is,\" he said, \"is that things never get better, they just stay the same, only more so.\" (p. 124)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Terry Pratchett", "slug": "terry-pratchett", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett" }, "book": { "title": "Eric", "slug": "eric", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/eric" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "change", "slug": "change", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/change" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_(novel)#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:14" }, { "id": "885f69f6-5ba2-45e9-8d36-fa4563b3e6ea", "slug": "hed-stopped-wondering", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/eric/hed-stopped-wondering", "text": "He'd stopped wondering how he'd come to be here, wherever it was. Malign forces. That was probably it. At least nothing particularly dreadful was happening to him right now. Probably it was only a matter of time. (p. 86)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Terry Pratchett", "slug": "terry-pratchett", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett" }, "book": { "title": "Eric", "slug": "eric", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/eric" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_(novel)#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:14" }, { "id": "8a8fda2a-27d9-4cc6-bc8f-abc49730a076", "slug": "shed-thought-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/genevieve-cogman/the-lost-plot/shed-thought-the", "text": "She’d thought the situation couldn’t get much worse. She’d been wrong. The situation could always get worse.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Genevieve Cogman", "slug": "genevieve-cogman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/genevieve-cogman" }, "book": { "title": "The Lost Plot", "slug": "the-lost-plot", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/genevieve-cogman/the-lost-plot" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 194, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Genevieve_Cogman#The_Lost_Plot_(2017)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:53" }, { "id": "687ab991-c0fa-4340-845a-a60752a2fb8f", "slug": "he-had-done", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84/he-had-done", "text": "He had done everything asked of him, and now he just wanted to concentrate on his own work. Something told him, however, that it was not going to be that simple, and he knew that bad premonitions have a far higher accuracy rate than good ones.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Haruki Murakami", "slug": "haruki-murakami", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami" }, "book": { "title": "1Q84", "slug": "1q84", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 251, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "foreseeing the future", "slug": "foreseeing-the-future", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/foreseeing-the-future" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/1Q84#Book_1_(April-June)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:38" }, { "id": "bd633ce0-97d4-4ac6-b5a9-dd398e96e1bc", "slug": "i-want-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/walter-tevis/the-man-who-fell-to-earth/i-want-you", "text": "“I want you to save the world, Mr. Newton.” Newton’s smile did not change, and his reply was immediate. “Is it worth saving, Nathan?”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Walter Tevis", "slug": "walter-tevis", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/walter-tevis" }, "book": { "title": "The Man Who Fell to Earth", "slug": "the-man-who-fell-to-earth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/walter-tevis/the-man-who-fell-to-earth" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 212, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Tevis#The_Man_Who_Fell_to_Earth_(1963)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:25" }, { "id": "a5e48c63-fd0f-43fd-a14d-65ac0fdececc", "slug": "i-dont-really", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/a-wild-sheep-chase/i-dont-really", "text": "I don't really know if it's the right thing to do, making new life. Kids grow up, generations take their place. What does it all come to? More hills bulldozed and more ocean fronts filled in? Faster cars and more cats run over? Who needs it?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Haruki Murakami", "slug": "haruki-murakami", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami" }, "book": { "title": "A Wild Sheep Chase", "slug": "a-wild-sheep-chase", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/a-wild-sheep-chase" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "children", "slug": "children", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/children" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Wild_Sheep_Chase#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:19" }, { "id": "0dfbc512-7788-4975-b46f-3d3881bec7ee", "slug": "no-such-luck", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/kafka-on-the-shore/no-such-luck", "text": "\"No such luck. \" He smiles. \"For better or for worse, I don't have that kind of power. If I sound like I'm always predicting ominous things, it's because I'm a pragmatist. I use deductive reasoning to generalize, and I suppose this sometimes winds up sounding like unlucky prophecies. You know why? Because reality's just the accumulation of ominous prophecies come to life. All you have to do is open a newspaper on any given day and weigh the good news versus the bad news, and you'll see what I mean.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Haruki Murakami", "slug": "haruki-murakami", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami" }, "book": { "title": "Kafka on the Shore", "slug": "kafka-on-the-shore", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/kafka-on-the-shore" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "reality", "slug": "reality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/reality" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kafka_on_the_Shore#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:18" }, { "id": "32a2987a-f4f4-4051-b837-50837ec3c6c0", "slug": "i-often-expect", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emma-newman/after-atlas/i-often-expect", "text": "I often expect the worst. This is one of the rare times when I’m hoping for it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emma Newman", "slug": "emma-newman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emma-newman" }, "book": { "title": "After Atlas", "slug": "after-atlas", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emma-newman/after-atlas" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 219, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "hope", "slug": "hope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hope" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emma_Newman#After_Atlas_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:17" }, { "id": "bf582e4c-280d-4fb7-b4a9-0e8a3e4beb5f", "slug": "all-right-lets", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/keith-laumer/a-plague-of-demons/all-right-lets", "text": "“All right. Let’s begin with the world situation.” “I’d prefer a more cheerful subject—like cancer.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Keith Laumer", "slug": "keith-laumer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/keith-laumer" }, "book": { "title": "A Plague of Demons", "slug": "a-plague-of-demons", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/keith-laumer/a-plague-of-demons" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 10, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Keith_Laumer#A_Plague_of_Demons_(1965)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:07" }, { "id": "09a420c9-7b15-477b-8913-3bbf2645a9f5", "slug": "in-clavains-experience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/redemption-ark/in-clavains-experience", "text": "In Clavain’s experience, it was the less comforting possibility that generally turned out to be the case. It was the way the universe worked.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alastair Reynolds", "slug": "alastair-reynolds", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds" }, "book": { "title": "Redemption Ark", "slug": "redemption-ark", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/redemption-ark" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 413, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Redemption_Ark_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:38" }, { "id": "fcffe045-d521-4708-ac25-e68320066ce0", "slug": "no-one-doubts", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/orthodoxy/no-one-doubts", "text": "No one doubts that an ordinary man can get on with this world: but we demand not strength enough to get on with it, but strength enough to get it on. Can he hate it enough to change it, and yet love it enough to think it worth changing? Can he look up at its colossal good without once feeling acquiescence? Can he look up at its colossal evil without once feeling despair? Can he, in short, be at once not only a pessimist and an optimist, but a fanatical pessimist and a fanatical optimist? Is he enough of a pagan to die for the world, and enough of a Christian to die to it? In this combination, I maintain, it is the rational optimist who fails, the irrational optimist who succeeds. He is ready to smash the whole universe for the sake of itself.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "G. Chesterton", "slug": "g-chesterton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton" }, "book": { "title": "Orthodoxy", "slug": "orthodoxy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/orthodoxy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "change", "slug": "change", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/change" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "optimism", "slug": "optimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/optimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Orthodoxy_(book)#Chapter_V._%22The_Flag_of_the_World%22", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:13" }, { "id": "31dfe897-66a4-4acb-b28e-5968d2899de8", "slug": "when-i-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/orthodoxy/when-i-was", "text": "When I was a boy there were two curious men running about who were called the optimist and the pessimist. I constantly used the words myself, but I cheerfully confess that I never had any very special idea of what they meant. The only thing which might be considered evident was that they could not mean what they said; for the ordinary verbal explanation was that the optimist thought this world as good as it could be, while the pessimist thought it as bad as it could be. Both these statements being obviously raving nonsense, one had to cast about for other explanations. An optimist could not mean a man who thought everything right and nothing wrong. For that is meaningless; it is like calling everything right and nothing left. Upon the whole, I came to the conclusion that the optimist thought everything good except the pessimist, and that the pessimist thought everything bad, except himself.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "G. Chesterton", "slug": "g-chesterton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton" }, "book": { "title": "Orthodoxy", "slug": "orthodoxy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/orthodoxy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "optimism", "slug": "optimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/optimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Orthodoxy_(book)#Chapter_V._%22The_Flag_of_the_World%22", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:13" }, { "id": "90b46927-afe4-4426-aeb3-3c8e78c0e078", "slug": "your-worst-pessimist", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/abraham-cahan/the-rise-of-david-levinsky/your-worst-pessimist", "text": "Your worst pessimist is, after all, an optimist with regard to himself.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Abraham Cahan", "slug": "abraham-cahan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/abraham-cahan" }, "book": { "title": "The Rise of David Levinsky", "slug": "the-rise-of-david-levinsky", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/abraham-cahan/the-rise-of-david-levinsky" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "optimism", "slug": "optimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/optimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Cahan#The_Rise_of_David_Levinsky_(1917)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:54" }, { "id": "9c8b4685-f58a-4de4-9646-3172be863762", "slug": "each-of-us-has", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-greene/the-laws-of-human-nature/each-of-us-has", "text": "Each of us has a particular way of looking at the world, of interpreting events and the actions of people around us. This is our attitude, and it determines much of what happens to us in life. If our attitude is essentially fearful, we see the negative in every circumstance. We stop ourselves from taking chances. We blame others for mistakes and fail to learn from them. If we feel hostile or suspicious, we make others feel such emotions in our presence. We sabotage our career and relationships by unconsciously creating the circumstances we fear the most. The human attitude, however, is malleable. By making our attitude more positive, open, and tolerant of other people, we can spark a different dynamic—we can learn from adversity, create opportunities out of nothing, and draw people to us. We must explore the limits of our willpower and how far it can take us.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert Greene", "slug": "robert-greene", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-greene" }, "book": { "title": "The Laws of Human Nature", "slug": "the-laws-of-human-nature", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-greene/the-laws-of-human-nature" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "fear", "slug": "fear", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fear" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "optimism", "slug": "optimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/optimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Greene_(American_author)#The_Laws_of_Human_Nature_(2018)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:59" }, { "id": "b8ea8dda-7f15-4bef-9572-f3474ec8f8b4", "slug": "me-i-dont", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley/millennium/me-i-dont", "text": "Me, I don’t know if I was born a pessimist or had pessimism thrust upon me. What I do you know is that I’ve had ample reason to embrace the philosophy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Varley", "slug": "john-varley", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley" }, "book": { "title": "Millennium", "slug": "millennium", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley/millennium" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 131, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Varley#Millennium_(1983)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:34" }, { "id": "b8c24cd8-ce8a-4ee2-b0a0-f95cc490423f", "slug": "dont-be-such", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley/millennium/dont-be-such", "text": "“Don’t be such a pessimist.” “All time travelers are pessimists.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Varley", "slug": "john-varley", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley" }, "book": { "title": "Millennium", "slug": "millennium", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley/millennium" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 131, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Varley#Millennium_(1983)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:34" }, { "id": "60059244-9c3e-48a3-bdcb-f0e59ca1f3c8", "slug": "the-nice-thing", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley/millennium/the-nice-thing", "text": "The nice thing about being a pessimist is that bittersweet is an improvement.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Varley", "slug": "john-varley", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley" }, "book": { "title": "Millennium", "slug": "millennium", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley/millennium" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 141, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Varley#Millennium_(1983)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:34" }, { "id": "071ad2ba-9944-436c-ba6b-4a76121396e3", "slug": "it-couldnt-happen", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/murray-leinster/the-pirates-of-zan/it-couldnt-happen", "text": "It couldn’t happen! Hoddan couldn’t conceive of such a thing. But a recently developed pessimism suggested that since everything else, to date, had been to his disadvantage, this was probably a catastrophe also.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Murray Leinster", "slug": "murray-leinster", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/murray-leinster" }, "book": { "title": "The Pirates of Zan", "slug": "the-pirates-of-zan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/murray-leinster/the-pirates-of-zan" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Murray_Leinster#The_Pirates_of_Zan_(1959)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:03" }, { "id": "952b99ae-c45a-4626-b941-0db53d91b331", "slug": "people-who-had", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/donald-barthelme/the-teachings-of-don-b/people-who-had", "text": "People who had, in the past, suffered from technophobia suffered even more. Others took other positions. Things were not so bad. Things could be worse. Worse things could be imagined. Worse things had been endured and triumphed over, in the past. This was not the worst. The worst was yet to come.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Donald Barthelme", "slug": "donald-barthelme", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/donald-barthelme" }, "book": { "title": "The Teachings of Don B.", "slug": "the-teachings-of-don-b", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/donald-barthelme/the-teachings-of-don-b" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 131, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Donald_Barthelme#The_Teachings_of_Don._B:_Satires,_Parodies,_Fables,_Illustrated_Stories,_and_Plays_of_Donald_Barthelme_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:08" }, { "id": "ce2adcd5-2ba8-4baf-8220-04725f575cd8", "slug": "prudence-and-experience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/omega/prudence-and-experience", "text": "Prudence, and experience, suggested she expect the worst.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jack Mcdevitt", "slug": "jack-mcdevitt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt" }, "book": { "title": "Omega", "slug": "omega", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/omega" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 46, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_McDevitt#Omega_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:58" }, { "id": "fb838150-885d-4258-9382-53645e6f5d95", "slug": "blessed-are-they", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/quicksand/blessed-are-they", "text": "—Blessed are they who expect the worst, for they shall get it!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Brunner", "slug": "john-brunner", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner" }, "book": { "title": "Quicksand", "slug": "quicksand", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/quicksand" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 113, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Brunner#Quicksand_(1967)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:08" }, { "id": "7d849014-a880-4aaa-9441-a971af474675", "slug": "why-can-i-never", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/quicksand/why-can-i-never", "text": "—Why can I never visualize things turning out better as clearly as I can visualize the catastrophes I scraped past by a hair? “Everything for the best in the best of all possible worlds!” Hah!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Brunner", "slug": "john-brunner", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner" }, "book": { "title": "Quicksand", "slug": "quicksand", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/quicksand" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 40, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "optimism", "slug": "optimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/optimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Brunner#Quicksand_(1967)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:08" }, { "id": "f99e1e38-3103-4b47-9158-f0354253b948", "slug": "you-see-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-bradbury/stepping-westward/you-see-you", "text": "\"You see, you are an optimist and live on hope. I am a pessimist and live on experience.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Malcolm Bradbury", "slug": "malcolm-bradbury", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-bradbury" }, "book": { "title": "Stepping Westward", "slug": "stepping-westward", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-bradbury/stepping-westward" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 352, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "experience", "slug": "experience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/experience" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "optimism", "slug": "optimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/optimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Malcolm_Bradbury#Stepping_Westward_(1965)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:37" }, { "id": "4fd11d62-eb06-4ffc-827b-a32f734dc726", "slug": "if-the-world", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy/stella-maris/if-the-world", "text": "If the world has a mind then it's all worse than we thought.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Cormac McCarthy", "slug": "cormac-mccarthy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy" }, "book": { "title": "Stella Maris", "slug": "stella-maris", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy/stella-maris" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "the universe", "slug": "the-universe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/the-universe" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cormac_McCarthy#Stella_Maris_(2022)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:31" }, { "id": "e71f8f83-0a4b-45a2-99a4-37f32b3eec5e", "slug": "a-fisherman-who", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-breakthroughs/a-fisherman-who", "text": "A fisherman who wasn’t a born pessimist hadn’t been going to sea long enough.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "The Great War: Breakthroughs", "slug": "the-great-war-breakthroughs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-breakthroughs" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 131, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "the sea", "slug": "the-sea", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/the-sea" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#The_Great_War:_Breakthroughs_(2000)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:49" }, { "id": "156d9113-5347-4b93-b334-a039e75c9e66", "slug": "when-cassius-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-walk-in-hell/when-cassius-was", "text": "When Cassius was optimistic about the way the fighting was going, he was often wrong; when he was pessimistic, he was always right.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "The Great War: Walk in Hell", "slug": "the-great-war-walk-in-hell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-walk-in-hell" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 101, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "optimism", "slug": "optimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/optimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#The_Great_War:_Walk_in_Hell_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:48" }, { "id": "c8046fb7-3578-453a-8c2a-880eab8588b7", "slug": "the-world-is-boiling", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-amis/success/the-world-is-boiling", "text": "The world is boiling. You hardly dare open a paper these days: the news is all of cataclysm and collapse. Tempers are threadbare; the yobs are winning; everybody accepts the fact that they’ve got to get nastier in order to survive. The world is going bad on us. I’m having nothing to do with it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Martin Amis", "slug": "martin-amis", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-amis" }, "book": { "title": "Success", "slug": "success", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/martin-amis/success" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Amis#Success_(1978)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:12" }, { "id": "de78763c-4fa4-4ba5-b9f7-ec21b2d01878", "slug": "dont-ask-me-how", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/the-colour-of-magic/dont-ask-me-how", "text": "Don't ask me how I knew—I suppose it was because it was just about the worst possible thing that was likely to happen.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Terry Pratchett", "slug": "terry-pratchett", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett" }, "book": { "title": "The Colour of Magic", "slug": "the-colour-of-magic", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/the-colour-of-magic" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Colour_of_Magic#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:50" }, { "id": "9c53d5a8-8885-4f76-aa4e-6b1b2717a7dd", "slug": "by-holding-firmly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire/we-are-doomed/by-holding-firmly", "text": "By holding firmly to a pessimistic, realistic view of what is and is not possible in a society of different ethnicities, we might have maintained the principles of a free republic, and saved ourselves much trouble and expense. In the world at large, diversity causes nothing but problems.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Derbyshire", "slug": "john-derbyshire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire" }, "book": { "title": "We Are Doomed", "slug": "we-are-doomed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire/we-are-doomed" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "diversity", "slug": "diversity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/diversity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Derbyshire#We_Are_Doomed:_Reclaiming_Conservative_Pessimism_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:28" }, { "id": "409617da-0283-4924-8edb-f9f644751348", "slug": "we-are-a-rugged", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire/we-are-doomed/we-are-a-rugged", "text": "We are a rugged species, up for anything the universe can throw at us; and as the great gloominaries knew, we will be immeasurably better prepared for nasty surprises if we approach the universe realistically - pessimistically - than if we continue to peer out at our surroundings through a distorting, rose-colored prism of wish-fulfillment fantasy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Derbyshire", "slug": "john-derbyshire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire" }, "book": { "title": "We Are Doomed", "slug": "we-are-doomed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire/we-are-doomed" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Derbyshire#We_Are_Doomed:_Reclaiming_Conservative_Pessimism_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:28" }, { "id": "370c5440-f092-4691-905b-f411df08d6e5", "slug": "the-more-depressed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire/we-are-doomed/the-more-depressed", "text": "The more depressed and maladjusted you are, the more likely it is that you are seeing things right, with minimal bias.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Derbyshire", "slug": "john-derbyshire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire" }, "book": { "title": "We Are Doomed", "slug": "we-are-doomed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-derbyshire/we-are-doomed" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "depression", "slug": "depression", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/depression" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Derbyshire#We_Are_Doomed:_Reclaiming_Conservative_Pessimism_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:28" }, { "id": "d40dfc5b-8450-4d08-858b-0d11a573bed8", "slug": "eeyores-are-realists", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/benjamin-hoff/the-te-of-piglet/eeyores-are-realists", "text": "Eeyores are Realists, they say. But reality is what one makes it. And the more negative reality one nurtures and creates, the more of it one has.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Benjamin Hoff", "slug": "benjamin-hoff", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/benjamin-hoff" }, "book": { "title": "The Te of Piglet", "slug": "the-te-of-piglet", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/benjamin-hoff/the-te-of-piglet" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Hoff#The_Te_of_Piglet_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:29" }, { "id": "74cb9766-c71c-4fb7-8e59-2740beccbf3c", "slug": "im-one-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dennis-miller/the-rants/im-one-of-the", "text": "I'm one of the more pessimistic cats on the planet. I make Van Gogh look like a rodeo clown.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dennis Miller", "slug": "dennis-miller", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dennis-miller" }, "book": { "title": "The Rants", "slug": "the-rants", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dennis-miller/the-rants" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dennis_Miller#The_Rants", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:32" }, { "id": "67ca2e70-71d6-4148-b188-943a7bc225c0", "slug": "my-capacity-for", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/life-the-universe-and-everything/my-capacity-for", "text": "\"My capacity for happiness,\" he added, \"you could fit into a matchbox without taking out the matches first.\" —Marvin", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Douglas Adams", "slug": "douglas-adams", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams" }, "book": { "title": "Life, the Universe and Everything", "slug": "life-the-universe-and-everything", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/life-the-universe-and-everything" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "happiness", "slug": "happiness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/happiness" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Chapter_7", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:27" }, { "id": "af01de84-ddcc-4c46-b110-a6c563c8acd2", "slug": "the-first-ten", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-restaurant-at-the-end-of-the-universe/the-first-ten", "text": "\"The first ten million years were the worst,\" said Marvin, \"and the second ten million years, they were the worst too. The third ten million years I didn't enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Douglas Adams", "slug": "douglas-adams", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams" }, "book": { "title": "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", "slug": "the-restaurant-at-the-end-of-the-universe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-restaurant-at-the-end-of-the-universe" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Chapter_18", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:26" }, { "id": "245c4c51-a355-42b8-b0de-94f178119eb4", "slug": "so-how-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-restaurant-at-the-end-of-the-universe/so-how-are", "text": "\"So, how are you?\" [Zaphod] said aloud. \"Oh, fine,\" said Marvin, \"if you happen to like being me, which personally I don't.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Douglas Adams", "slug": "douglas-adams", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams" }, "book": { "title": "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", "slug": "the-restaurant-at-the-end-of-the-universe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-restaurant-at-the-end-of-the-universe" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Chapter_6", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:26" }, { "id": "fdb23e33-6c2c-4099-a527-e7bf23b1d209", "slug": "sorry-did-i-say", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase/sorry-did-i-say", "text": "\"Sorry, did I say something wrong?\" said Marvin, dragging himself on regardless. \"Pardon me for breathing, which I never do anyway so I don't know why I bother to say it, oh God I'm so depressed. Here's another one of those self-satisfied doors. Life! Don't talk to me about life.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Douglas Adams", "slug": "douglas-adams", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams" }, "book": { "title": "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: Primary Phase", "slug": "the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "life", "slug": "life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/life" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Chapter_11", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:25" }, { "id": "88a4e036-8496-46d8-aa5a-354bde45d2f3", "slug": "life-said-marvin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase/life-said-marvin", "text": "\"Life,\" said Marvin dolefully, \"loathe it or ignore it, you can't like it.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Douglas Adams", "slug": "douglas-adams", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams" }, "book": { "title": "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: Primary Phase", "slug": "the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "life", "slug": "life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/life" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Chapter_20", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:25" }, { "id": "3aa4b804-7c79-40b9-abd8-0c55fd34a64f", "slug": "funny-he-intoned", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase/funny-he-intoned", "text": "“Funny,” he intoned funereally, “how just when you think life can’t possibly get any worse it suddenly does.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Douglas Adams", "slug": "douglas-adams", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams" }, "book": { "title": "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: Primary Phase", "slug": "the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-primary-phase" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Chapter_13", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:25" }, { "id": "b08fd5a3-9759-4ec0-b049-82db2c9343ad", "slug": "i-shouldnt-be-surprised", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aa-milne/the-house-at-pooh-corner/i-shouldnt-be-surprised", "text": "\"I shouldn't be surprised if it hailed a good deal tomorrow\", Eeyore was saying. \"Blizzards and what-not. Being fine today doesn't mean anything. It has no sig - what's that word? Well, it has none of that. It's just a small piece of weather.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "A.A. Milne", "slug": "aa-milne", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aa-milne" }, "book": { "title": "The House at Pooh Corner", "slug": "the-house-at-pooh-corner", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aa-milne/the-house-at-pooh-corner" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A._A._Milne#The_House_at_Pooh_Corner_(1928)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:33" }, { "id": "8ea5cf8d-9a47-4c49-b715-2e10763111f6", "slug": "good-morning-pooh", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aa-milne/winnie-the-pooh/good-morning-pooh", "text": "\"Good morning, Pooh Bear\", said Eeyore gloomily. \"If it is a good morning\", he said. \"Which I doubt\", said he.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "A.A. Milne", "slug": "aa-milne", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aa-milne" }, "book": { "title": "Winnie the Pooh", "slug": "winnie-the-pooh", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aa-milne/winnie-the-pooh" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A._A._Milne#Winnie-the-Pooh_(1926)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:32" }, { "id": "f5f5db12-c1c5-4a0f-945d-933358e3d027", "slug": "to-be-positive", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-cobain/journals/to-be-positive", "text": "To be positive at all times is to ignore all that is important, sacred or valuable. To be negative at all times is to be threatened by ridiculousness and instant discredibility. [p. 18]", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kurt Cobain", "slug": "kurt-cobain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-cobain" }, "book": { "title": "Journals", "slug": "journals", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-cobain/journals" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "optimism", "slug": "optimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/optimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Cobain#Journals_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:18" }, { "id": "ed01794b-72e7-4c81-8d3c-d302242eb533", "slug": "i-remembered-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/cats-cradle/i-remembered-the", "text": "I remembered The Fourteenth Book of Bokonon, which I had read in its entirety the night before. The Fourteenth Book is entitled, \"What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?\"It doesn't take long to read The Fourteenth Book. It consists of one word and a period.This is it:\"Nothing.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "slug": "kurt-vonnegut", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut" }, "book": { "title": "Cat's Cradle", "slug": "cats-cradle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/cats-cradle" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "human nature", "slug": "human-nature", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/human-nature" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cat's_Cradle#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:37" }, { "id": "a9a43bd0-3400-4fad-bda5-00f47977a707", "slug": "man-is-vile", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/cats-cradle/man-is-vile", "text": "Man is vile, and man makes nothing worth making, knows nothing worth knowing.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "slug": "kurt-vonnegut", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut" }, "book": { "title": "Cat's Cradle", "slug": "cats-cradle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/cats-cradle" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "human nature", "slug": "human-nature", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/human-nature" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cat's_Cradle#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:37" }, { "id": "3899df7a-db1b-47dc-bbfa-ab693728d88b", "slug": "my-second-wife", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/cats-cradle/my-second-wife", "text": "My second wife had left me on the grounds that I was too pessimistic for an optimist to live with.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "slug": "kurt-vonnegut", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut" }, "book": { "title": "Cat's Cradle", "slug": "cats-cradle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kurt-vonnegut/cats-cradle" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "optimism", "slug": "optimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/optimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cat's_Cradle#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:37" }, { "id": "0d69d932-a8df-4f1a-be04-8a34b764ce97", "slug": "i-am-an-optimist", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-ustinov/dear-me/i-am-an-optimist", "text": "I am an optimist, unrepentant and militant. After all, in order not to be a fool, an optimist must know what a sad place the world can be. It is only the pessimist who finds this out anew every day.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Peter Ustinov", "slug": "peter-ustinov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-ustinov" }, "book": { "title": "Dear Me", "slug": "dear-me", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-ustinov/dear-me" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "optimism", "slug": "optimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/optimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Ustinov#Dear_Me_(1977)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:18" }, { "id": "14a99524-7589-407d-9e52-75dfc88701c0", "slug": "it-cant-make", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-gaiman/fragile-things/it-cant-make", "text": "“It can’t make things any worse.” “If there’s one thing that a study of history has taught us, it is that things can always get worse,” said my friend.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Neil Gaiman", "slug": "neil-gaiman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-gaiman" }, "book": { "title": "Fragile Things", "slug": "fragile-things", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-gaiman/fragile-things" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 5, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman#Fragile_Things_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:13" }, { "id": "72e561af-d637-42ad-9718-620d518361ec", "slug": "me-seemes-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-spenser/the-faerie-queene/me-seemes-the", "text": "Me seemes the world is runne quite out of square, From the first point of his appointed sourse, And being once amisse growes daily wourse and wourse.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edmund Spenser", "slug": "edmund-spenser", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-spenser" }, "book": { "title": "The Faerie Queene", "slug": "the-faerie-queene", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edmund-spenser/the-faerie-queene" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Spenser#Book_V", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:57" }, { "id": "965ea8b6-04a9-4d01-965c-9639db7c1ea2", "slug": "and-why-should", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-hume/dialogues-concerning-natural-religion/and-why-should", "text": "And why should man, added he, pretend to an exemption from the lot of all other animals? The whole earth, believe me, PHILO, is cursed and polluted. A perpetual war is kindled amongst all living creatures. Necessity, hunger, want, stimulate the strong and courageous: Fear, anxiety, terror, agitate the weak and infirm. The first entrance into life gives anguish to the new-born infant and to its wretched parent: Weakness, impotence, distress, attend each stage of that life: and it is at last finished in agony and horror.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Hume", "slug": "david-hume", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-hume" }, "book": { "title": "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion", "slug": "dialogues-concerning-natural-religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-hume/dialogues-concerning-natural-religion" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "life", "slug": "life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/life" }, { "name": "suffering", "slug": "suffering", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/suffering" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Hume#Dialogues_Concerning_Natural_Religion_(1779)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:56" }, { "id": "8a52ffd9-9ed2-4405-8e74-9b6e965c9d56", "slug": "look-round-this", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-hume/dialogues-concerning-natural-religion/look-round-this", "text": "Look round this universe. What an immense profusion of beings, animated and organised, sensible and active! You admire this prodigious variety and fecundity. But inspect a little more narrowly these living existences, the only beings worth regarding. How hostile and destructive to each other! How insufficient all of them for their own happiness! How contemptible or odious to the spectator! The whole presents nothing but the idea of a blind Nature, impregnated by a great vivifying principle, and pouring forth from her lap, without discernment or parental care, her maimed and abortive children!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Hume", "slug": "david-hume", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-hume" }, "book": { "title": "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion", "slug": "dialogues-concerning-natural-religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-hume/dialogues-concerning-natural-religion" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "nature", "slug": "nature", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/nature" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Hume#Dialogues_Concerning_Natural_Religion_(1779)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:56" }, { "id": "cd9147bd-c784-4b57-84f3-f3bb4eb947d3", "slug": "to-have-failed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born/to-have-failed", "text": "To have failed in everything, always, out of a love of discouragement.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emil Cioran", "slug": "emil-cioran", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran" }, "book": { "title": "The Trouble With Being Born", "slug": "the-trouble-with-being-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "success and failure", "slug": "success-and-failure", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/success-and-failure" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emil_Cioran#The_Trouble_With_Being_Born_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:43" }, { "id": "7843a4a7-3ff5-4c86-86c7-6d9a696ed20c", "slug": "god-is-what", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born/god-is-what", "text": "God is what survives the evidence that nothing deserves to be thought.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emil Cioran", "slug": "emil-cioran", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran" }, "book": { "title": "The Trouble With Being Born", "slug": "the-trouble-with-being-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "god", "slug": "god", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/god" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emil_Cioran#The_Trouble_With_Being_Born_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:43" }, { "id": "fc95fc83-77e0-4d5f-ba89-411eddd2a453", "slug": "say-what-we-will", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born/say-what-we-will", "text": "Say what we will, death is the best thing nature has found to please everyone. With each of us, everything vanishes, everything stops forever. What an advantage, what an abuse! Without the least effort on our part, we own the universe, we drag it into our own disappearance. No doubt about it, dying is immoral...", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emil Cioran", "slug": "emil-cioran", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran" }, "book": { "title": "The Trouble With Being Born", "slug": "the-trouble-with-being-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "death", "slug": "death", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/death" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emil_Cioran#The_Trouble_With_Being_Born_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:42" }, { "id": "eaedf41c-eaa8-48c8-91d5-b549f66a589a", "slug": "what-are-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born/what-are-you", "text": "What are you waiting for in order to give up?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emil Cioran", "slug": "emil-cioran", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran" }, "book": { "title": "The Trouble With Being Born", "slug": "the-trouble-with-being-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "despair", "slug": "despair", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/despair" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emil_Cioran#The_Trouble_With_Being_Born_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:42" }, { "id": "e0c2456c-d0ad-41d9-955e-d59313e434b2", "slug": "i-pride-myself", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born/i-pride-myself", "text": "I pride myself on my capacity to perceive the transitory character of everything. An odd gift which has spoiled all my joys; better: all my sensations.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emil Cioran", "slug": "emil-cioran", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran" }, "book": { "title": "The Trouble With Being Born", "slug": "the-trouble-with-being-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "transience", "slug": "transience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/transience" }, { "name": "joy", "slug": "joy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/joy" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emil_Cioran#The_Trouble_With_Being_Born_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:42" }, { "id": "c40574eb-490b-4790-a37d-51eb2027dab2", "slug": "we-have-lost", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born/we-have-lost", "text": "We have lost, being born, as much as we shall lose, dying. Everything.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emil Cioran", "slug": "emil-cioran", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran" }, "book": { "title": "The Trouble With Being Born", "slug": "the-trouble-with-being-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "death", "slug": "death", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/death" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "birth", "slug": "birth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/birth" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emil_Cioran#The_Trouble_With_Being_Born_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:42" }, { "id": "6ab2564b-7217-425e-a441-662a8e7efa70", "slug": "nothing-is-a-better", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born/nothing-is-a-better", "text": "Nothing is a better proof of how far humanity has regressed than the impossibility of finding a single nation, a single tribe, among whom birth still provokes mourning and lamentations.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emil Cioran", "slug": "emil-cioran", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran" }, "book": { "title": "The Trouble With Being Born", "slug": "the-trouble-with-being-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "birth", "slug": "birth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/birth" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emil_Cioran#The_Trouble_With_Being_Born_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:42" }, { "id": "6cab72ce-04a1-4ea1-8b60-a3e1904e2c01", "slug": "having-always-lived", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born/having-always-lived", "text": "Having always lived in fear of being surprised by the worst, I have tried in every circumstance to get a head start, flinging myself into misfortune long before it occurred.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emil Cioran", "slug": "emil-cioran", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran" }, "book": { "title": "The Trouble With Being Born", "slug": "the-trouble-with-being-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "fear", "slug": "fear", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fear" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emil_Cioran#The_Trouble_With_Being_Born_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:41" }, { "id": "45aa323d-193c-49c7-90ff-cb72e3c5ed8f", "slug": "the-real-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born/the-real-the", "text": "The real, the unique misfortune: to see the light of day. A disaster which dates back to aggressiveness, to the seed of expansion and rage within origins, to the tendency to the worst which first shook them up.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emil Cioran", "slug": "emil-cioran", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran" }, "book": { "title": "The Trouble With Being Born", "slug": "the-trouble-with-being-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "birth", "slug": "birth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/birth" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emil_Cioran#The_Trouble_With_Being_Born_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:41" }, { "id": "75446aea-38f2-4494-8570-7fdff0b5609c", "slug": "if-consciousness-is-as-some", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno/tragic-sense-of-life/if-consciousness-is-as-some", "text": "If consciousness is, as some inhuman thinker has said, nothing more than a flash of light between two eternities of darkness, then there is nothing more execrable than existence.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Miguel de Unamuno", "slug": "miguel-de-unamuno", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno" }, "book": { "title": "Tragic Sense of Life", "slug": "tragic-sense-of-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno/tragic-sense-of-life" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "consciousness", "slug": "consciousness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/consciousness" }, { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "existence", "slug": "existence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/existence" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Unamuno#I_:_The_Man_of_Flesh_and_Bone", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:20" }, { "id": "31365bf6-0df1-4b82-93fb-b0749ff63e5d", "slug": "the-perversity-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven/protector/the-perversity-of-the", "text": "The Perversity of the Universe Tends Toward a Maximum.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Larry Niven", "slug": "larry-niven", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven" }, "book": { "title": "Protector", "slug": "protector", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven/protector" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 23, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "bad luck", "slug": "bad-luck", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/bad-luck" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Larry_Niven#Protector_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:29" }, { "id": "9facab6c-e731-4851-9e19-153833cb4984", "slug": "the-perversity-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven/ringworld/the-perversity-of-the", "text": "The perversity of the universe tends towards a maximum. The universe is hostile.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Larry Niven", "slug": "larry-niven", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven" }, "book": { "title": "Ringworld", "slug": "ringworld", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/larry-niven/ringworld" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 142, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pessimism", "slug": "pessimism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pessimism" }, { "name": "bad luck", "slug": "bad-luck", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/bad-luck" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Larry_Niven#Ringworld_(1970)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:28" }, { "id": "c95a3a41-85b1-4fbc-a478-6b49dbace8bf", "slug": "he-was-suddenly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke/the-collected-stories-of-arthur-c-clarke/he-was-suddenly", "text": "He was suddenly struck by an idea so brilliant that he was quite sure it could not possibly work.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Arthur C. Clarke", "slug": "arthur-c-clarke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-c-clarke" }, "book": { "title": "The Collected Stories Of Arthur C. 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