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Quiz about Misery and Misfortune
Quiz about Misery and Misfortune

Misery and Misfortune Trivia Quiz


Listed within are quotes, attributed to well-known people, that mention 'misfortune' or 'misery'. Do you dare to delve deeper?

A multiple-choice quiz by Pegbshack. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Pegbshack
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
358,158
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
861
Question 1 of 10
1. What great Italian poet noted that "there is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery"? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Voltaire deemed that "he who has ______ the spirit of this age, has all the misery of it." What is the missing word? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. What American philosopher, and author of "Walden", observed that "if misery loves company, misery has company enough"? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Anne Frank disclosed that "I don't think of all the misery but of the ______ that still remains." What is the missing word? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which American essayist, and author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", averred that "little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them"? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Spike Milligan opined that "______ can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery." What is the missing word? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Which ancient Greek philosopher, and famous student of Plato, declared that "misfortune shows those who are not really friends"? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Laurence J. Peter is credited with coining "fortune knocks but ______, but misfortune has much more patience." What is the missing word? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Which ancient world story teller, renowned for fables, asserted that "the unhappy derive comfort from the misfortunes of others"? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Honoré de Balzac remarked that "we ______ misfortune and happiness alike. We are never as bad off or as happy as we say we are." What is the missing word? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What great Italian poet noted that "there is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery"?

Answer: Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri, often referred to by the mononym 'Dante', was a celebrated Italian poet and statesman who lived in the 13th and 14th centuries. One of his best-known works was the "Divine Comedy", which is considered a masterpiece of epic poetry.

Carlos Barbarito is a modern day Argentine poet. Giacomo Leopardi was a 19th century Italian poet and philosopher. Salvatore Quasimodo was a 20th century Italian poet, author, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1959.
2. Voltaire deemed that "he who has ______ the spirit of this age, has all the misery of it." What is the missing word?

Answer: not

François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name of Voltaire, was an 18th century French writer and philosopher. The satirical novella "Candide" is one his best-known works. His pen name was an anagram of the Latinized version of his family name, along with the addition of the initial letters of "le jeune" (French for "the young" or "the younger" - but Voltaire used i for j here).
3. What American philosopher, and author of "Walden", observed that "if misery loves company, misery has company enough"?

Answer: Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau, born David Henry Thoreau, was a resolute abolitionist during the 19th century. He and Ralph Waldo Emerson, another great American poet and essayist, shared long-term mentor-protege relationship. The essay "Civil Disobedience" and the book "Walden" are among his numerous literary works.

Joseph Priestley was an 18th century English natural philosopher and theologian. John Dewey was an American philosopher and educational reformer during the 19th and 20th centuries. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a 19th century American essayist, poet, and Henry David Thoreau's mentor and friend.
4. Anne Frank disclosed that "I don't think of all the misery but of the ______ that still remains." What is the missing word?

Answer: beauty

Annelies "Anne" Marie Frank was a teenage diarist, and a victim of the Holocaust. She died of typhus just a few weeks prior to the camp's liberation by British troops. Anne was fifteen years old at the time of her death. Her diary was posthumously published as "The Diary of a Young Girl"--now generally known as "The Diary of Anne Frank". I read the book as a child, and Anne's story still resonates with me to this day.
5. Which American essayist, and author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", averred that "little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them"?

Answer: Washington Irving

Washington Irving was an American writer that lived in the 19th century. "Rip Van Winkle" is another one of his well-known works. Irving is considered by academicians to be the first American 'Man of Letters' and the progenitor of the American short story format.

James Fenimore Cooper was a 19th century American writer. One of his best-known works was "The Last of the Mohicans". Nathaniel Hawthorne was a 19th century American writer; "The Scarlet Letter", "The House of the Seven Gables", and "Twice-Told Tales" are among his literary creations. Herman Melville was a 19th century American short story writer, poet, and novelist; the novel "Moby-Dick" is one of his best-known works.
6. Spike Milligan opined that "______ can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery." What is the missing word?

Answer: money

Terence Alan Patrick Sean "Spike" Milligan was an Irish citizen, and a multi-talented comedian, writer, musician, and actor. He was particularly well-known for being involved with "The Goon Show" as head writer and cast member. He played "Gryphon" in the 1972 film "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (one of my childhood favorites).

A portion of his headstone's epitaph is in Irish Gaelic and translates to "I told you I was ill."
7. Which ancient Greek philosopher, and famous student of Plato, declared that "misfortune shows those who are not really friends"?

Answer: Aristotle

Aristotle was one of ancient Greece's preeminent thinkers. He was Plato's student and Alexander the Great's teacher. Aristotle's name means 'the best purpose'. His teachings and views contributed to the groundwork for Western philosophy and still influence the modern world.

Heraclitus was an esteemed pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. Theophrastus was a Greek philosopher and Aristotle's successor to the Peripatetic school. Epicurus was a Greek philosopher, as well as the founder of Epicureanism.
8. Laurence J. Peter is credited with coining "fortune knocks but ______, but misfortune has much more patience." What is the missing word?

Answer: once

Laurence J. Peter was a 20th century educator and best known for the exposition of "The Peter Principle." He and Raymond Hull published the book in 1969. Basically, the Peter Principle declares that "employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence." He also coined the bon mot "noblest of all dogs is the hotdog; it feeds the hand that bites it."
9. Which ancient world story teller, renowned for fables, asserted that "the unhappy derive comfort from the misfortunes of others"?

Answer: Aesop

Aesop's existence as an actual human being has been questioned by academicians over the past several years. Details of Aesop's life appear in the form of strewn anecdotes in text of several ancient sources, such as Herodotus, Aristotle, Aristophanes and Plato. He is said to have lived sometime during the 620-564 BC period.

Adrianus was an ancient Athenian sophist (specialized teacher). Alciphron was a noted ancient Greek sophist and epistolographer (writer of letters). Aspasius was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Peripatetic school.
10. Honoré de Balzac remarked that "we ______ misfortune and happiness alike. We are never as bad off or as happy as we say we are." What is the missing word?

Answer: exaggerate

Honoré de Balzac was an influential 19th century French playwright and novelist. Balzac was also considered as one of the key architects of realism in western literature. His magnum opus is regarded to be "La Comédie humaine", which translates to "The Human Comedy" in English.
Source: Author Pegbshack

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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