Henry David Thoreau
Writer, Philosopher
"The greatest tragedy in life is to spend your whole life fishing only to discover it was never fish that you were after."
Tragedy quotes
Tragedy
1.1K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Jackie Kennedy
First Lady
"I have been through a lot and have suffered a great deal. But I have had lots of happy moments, as well. Every moment one lives is different from the other. The good, the bad, hardship, the joy, the tragedy, love, and happiness are all interwoven into one single, indescribable whole that is called life. You cannot separate the good from the bad. And perhaps there is no need to do so, either."
Claude Monet
Painter
"It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare."
Woodrow Wilson
Politician
"We are citizens of the world. The tragedy of our times is that we do not know this."
Oscar Wilde
Writer
"It is perfectly possible to get what you think you want and be miserable. It's possible too, to never get it but deeply enjoy the process of trying. In this world, there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."
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"The Irishman sustains himself during brief periods of joy by the knowledge that tragedy is just around the corner."
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"Christians can trust God to redeem even the greatest of tragedies and the most desperate of situations."
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"However good we are, however correctly we seek to lead our lives, tragedies do occur. We can blame others, look for justification, imagine how our lives would have been different without them. But none of that matters: they have happened, and that is that. From this point on, it is necessary that we review our own lives, overcome fear, and begin the process of reconstruction."
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"We are using the neurons, our identity, to constantly maintain our identity. Whether you are awake, asleep, or dreaming, this process is carried on. But, it is wearing you out.That is why I say the tragedy that is facing mankind is not AIDS or cancer, but Alzthiemer's disease."
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"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy."
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"Great art is not a matter of presenting one side or another, but presenting a picture so full of the contradictions, tragedies, [and] insights of the period that the impact is at once disturbing and satisfying."
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"It's my belief that history is a wheel. 'Inconstancy is my very essence,'? says the wheel. Rise up on my spokes if you like but don't complain when you're cast back down into the depths. Good times pass away, but then so do the bad. Mutability is our tragedy, but it's also our hope. The worst of times, like the best, are always passing away."
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"Had the Senate or House, or both, censured or somehow warned Richard Nixon, the tragedy of Watergate might have been prevented. Hopefully the Senate will not sit by while even more serious abuses unfold before it."
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"Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is poverty. Ignorance is devastation. Ignorance is tragedy. And ignorance is illness. It all stems from ignorance."
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"It is a tragedy, I feel, that people of a different sexual type are caught in a world which shows so little understanding for homosexuals and is so crassly indifferent to the various gradations and variations of gender and their great significance in life."
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"A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease."
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"Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. Tragedy isn't getting something or failure to get it; it's losing something you already have. Waste not fresh tears over old griefs."
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"The cheapness of man is every day's tragedy."
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"The greatest lesson I've learned in life is "Who knows what's good or bad?" Things come along that you really want, and they turn out to be the worst thing in the world. And some of the worst tragedies that you can conceive turn out to be the best things, the exact medicine you need in that moment."
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"I like a man who likes to see a fine barn as well as a good tragedy."
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"The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It's the Gospel. So, finally, I'M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope."
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"The life of every individual is really always a tragedy, but gone through in detail, it has the character of a comedy."
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"The tragedy in sports is seeing a team beaten not by a better team, but by themselves."
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"There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were."
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"When the doubters tell you it can't be done and all kind of tragedies will come your way, I say nonsense. If you can get to the very root of who you are and make something happen from it, my sense tells me you are going to surprise yourself."
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