1672-1719, English Essayist, Poet, Dramatist, Statesman
Adversity Our real blessings often appear to us in the shapes of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience, and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.
Attitude I have always preferred cheerfulness to mirth. The latter I consider as an act, the former as an habit of mind. Mirth is short and transient, cheerfulness fixed and permanent.A cheerful temper, joined with innocence will make beauty attractive, knowledge delightful, and wit good-natured.
Wisdom for The Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing , © 2004