"We're programmed for suffering, not joy. The masochism is built in at a very early age. You're supposed to work and suffer - and the trouble is: you believe it."

Suffering, Truth, Wisdom, Observation

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"We're programmed for suffering, not joy. The masochism is built in at a very early age. You're supposed to work and suffer - and the trouble is: you believe it."

Exlpore more Suffering quotes

"Oddly, the burned hand didn't seem to hurt much anymore; it was only numb. It would have been better if there had been pain. Pain was at least real."

Stephen King, American Author

Suffering, Pain, Regret, Truth, Wisdom

"As he took them in his arms, the crying of the babies permeated the night like a trail of blood calling out to a predator."

Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Spanish Novelist

Suffering, Pain, Darkness, Emotion, Fear

"Sometimes one has suffered enough to have the right to never say: I am too happy."

Alexandre Dumas, French Dramatist

Suffering, Happiness, Right, Life

"Also, I'm angry. I know life is hard, I think everyone knows that in their hearts, but why does it have to be cruel, as well? Why does it have to bite?"

Stephen King, American Author

Suffering, Regret, Truth, Power, Life

"The man who was once starved may revenge himself upon the world not by stealing just once, or by stealing only what he needs, but by taking from the world an endless toll in payment of something irreplaceable, which is the lost faith."

Anais Nin, American Author

Suffering, Revenge, Faith, Loss, World

"More commonly suffering breaks people, crushes them, and is simply unilluminating. You see how gruesomely human beings are destroyed by pain, when they have the added torment of losing their humanity first, so that their death is a total defeat..."

Saul Bellow, American Novelist

Suffering, Pain, Humanity, Loss

"We must love one another or die."

W. H. Auden, English Poet

Suffering, Love, Existence, Life, Death

"For it would be better to die once and for all than to suffer pain for all one's life."

Aeschylus, Greek Poet

Suffering, Pain, Death, Endurance

"I thought maybe if she could express herself rather than suffer herself, if she had a way to relieve the burden, she lived for nothing more than living, with nothing to get inspired by, to care for, to call her own, she helped out at the store, then came home and sat in her big chair and stared at her magazines, not at them but through them, she let the dust accumulate on her shoulders."

Jonathan Safran Foer, American Novelist

Suffering, Expression, Emotion, Isolation

"It was the sound of a thousand hungry children crying, ten thousand widows tearing their hair over their husband's graves, a chorus of angels singing the last dirge on the day of God's death."

Christopher Moore, American Novelist

Suffering, Pain, Faith, Death

Explore more quotes by Erica Jong

"You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy."

Woman

"The stones themselves are thick with history, and those cats that dash through the alleyways must surely be the ghosts of the famous dead in feline disguise."

History

"In a bad marriage, friends are the invisible glue. If we have enough friends, we may go on for years, intending to leave, talking about leaving - instead of actually getting up and leaving."

Friendship

"I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back."

Life

"You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame."

Life

"Many people today believe that cynicism requires courage. Actually, cynicism is the height of cowardice. It is innocence and open-heartedness that requires the true courage-however often we are hurt as a result of it."

Courage

"Though my friends envied me because I always seemed so cheerful and confident, I was secretly terrified of practically everything."

Self

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Exlpore more Suffering quotes

"Oddly, the burned hand didn't seem to hurt much anymore; it was only numb. It would have been better if there had been pain. Pain was at least real."

"As he took them in his arms, the crying of the babies permeated the night like a trail of blood calling out to a predator."

"Sometimes one has suffered enough to have the right to never say: I am too happy."

"Also, I'm angry. I know life is hard, I think everyone knows that in their hearts, but why does it have to be cruel, as well? Why does it have to bite?"

"The man who was once starved may revenge himself upon the world not by stealing just once, or by stealing only what he needs, but by taking from the world an endless toll in payment of something irreplaceable, which is the lost faith."

"More commonly suffering breaks people, crushes them, and is simply unilluminating. You see how gruesomely human beings are destroyed by pain, when they have the added torment of losing their humanity first, so that their death is a total defeat..."

"We must love one another or die."

"For it would be better to die once and for all than to suffer pain for all one's life."

"It was the sound of a thousand hungry children crying, ten thousand widows tearing their hair over their husband's graves, a chorus of angels singing the last dirge on the day of God's death."

Explore more quotes by Erica Jong

"You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy."

"The trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more."

"Ambivalence is a wonderful tune to dance to. It has a rhythm all its own."

"Singularity shows something wrong in the mind."

"The stones themselves are thick with history, and those cats that dash through the alleyways must surely be the ghosts of the famous dead in feline disguise."

"In a bad marriage, friends are the invisible glue. If we have enough friends, we may go on for years, intending to leave, talking about leaving - instead of actually getting up and leaving."

"I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back."

"You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame."

"Many people today believe that cynicism requires courage. Actually, cynicism is the height of cowardice. It is innocence and open-heartedness that requires the true courage-however often we are hurt as a result of it."

"Though my friends envied me because I always seemed so cheerful and confident, I was secretly terrified of practically everything."