We learn by misfortune.
Success is the necessary misfortune of life, but it is only to the very unfortunate that it comes early.
In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds.
The worst misfortune that can happen to an ordinary man is to have an extraordinary father.
Am I old-fashioned? I think I might be. I am a lucky woman, because I was born with a priceless gift... the ability to laugh at the misfortunes of others.
The difference between a misfortune and a calamity is this: If Gladstone fell into the Thames, it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him out again, that would be a calamity.
The man with the real sense of humor is the man who can put himself in the spectator's place and laugh at his own misfortune.
Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative in difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife in misfortune.
It would indeed be a sad misfortune if man were released from the necessity of work and struggle, for it is a well-known fact that organs which do not function atrophy; and according to the old saying, 'Idleness is the devil's workshop.'
The swift wind of compromise is a lot more devastating than the sudden jolt of misfortune.
