The world’s a fine place for those who go out to take it; there’s lots of unknown stuff in it
yet.
—John Galsworthy, 1901
The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a
little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.
—Steven Weinberg, 1993
The actual tragedies of life bear no relation to one’s preconceived ideas. In the event, one is
always bewildered by their simplicity, their grandeur of design, and by that element of the
bizarre which seems inherent in them.
—Jean Cocteau, 1955
Tragedy is the difference between what is and what could have been.
—Abba Eban, 1963
Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with
the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.
—William Hazlitt, 1819
The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the
caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.
—Richard Bach, 1977
This world is a comedy to those that think; a tragedy to those that feel.
—Horace Walpole, 1769
4
Life is a festival only to the wise.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841
Life is too tragic for sadness: Let us rejoice.
—Edward Abbey, 1990
Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.
—Stephen Hawking, 2004
Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when
people laugh.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1911
Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it.
—Oscar Wilde, 1882
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
—Brendan Gill, 1975
The more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to laugh at it.
—Bill Nye, 1892
5
4
Sometimes misattributed to Jean de la Bruyère.
5
Frequently misattributed to “Bill Nye the Science Guy” (William Sanford Nye, 1955–present).
On the World and Time, Life and Death
199
yet.
—John Galsworthy, 1901
The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a
little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.
—Steven Weinberg, 1993
The actual tragedies of life bear no relation to one’s preconceived ideas. In the event, one is
always bewildered by their simplicity, their grandeur of design, and by that element of the
bizarre which seems inherent in them.
—Jean Cocteau, 1955
Tragedy is the difference between what is and what could have been.
—Abba Eban, 1963
Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with
the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.
—William Hazlitt, 1819
The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the
caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.
—Richard Bach, 1977
This world is a comedy to those that think; a tragedy to those that feel.
—Horace Walpole, 1769
4
Life is a festival only to the wise.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841
Life is too tragic for sadness: Let us rejoice.
—Edward Abbey, 1990
Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.
—Stephen Hawking, 2004
Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when
people laugh.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1911
Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it.
—Oscar Wilde, 1882
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
—Brendan Gill, 1975
The more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to laugh at it.
—Bill Nye, 1892
5
4
Sometimes misattributed to Jean de la Bruyère.
5
Frequently misattributed to “Bill Nye the Science Guy” (William Sanford Nye, 1955–present).
On the World and Time, Life and Death
199