Literary notes about adversity (AI summary)
Literature often employs "adversity" as a multifaceted catalyst for personal growth and moral reflection. In many works, it is depicted as the severe instructor that shapes character by testing one’s resolve and deepening understanding—suggesting that hardships form the fabric of a virtuous life [1][2]. Authors frequently contrast adversity with prosperity, asserting that while good fortune comforts, difficulty reveals true strength and forges a resilient spirit, as seen in historical narratives where leaders and heroes are molded in the crucible of suffering [3][4]. Moreover, some writers use adversity to illustrate the transformative process of self-discovery and refined character, a motif imbued with both philosophical and spiritual significance [5][6].
- "Adversity is a severe instructor," says Edmund Burke, "set over us by one who knows us better than we do ourselves, as he loves us better too.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden - Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man; but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.
— from On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle - But the genius of Constantine himself had been formed by adversity and experience.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - Adversity stripped him only to discover him.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden - Woe to the prosperities of the world, once and again, through fear of adversity, and corruption of joy!
— from The Confessions of St. Augustine by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine - “For the mutual society, help, and comfort that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity.”
— from The Ethics of Aristotle by Aristotle
