“He that lives, must grow old; and he that would rather grow old than die, has God to thank for the infirmities of old age.”

Framing the burdens of age as the price of continued life · Letter to James Boswell, 1782

• Faith
• Mortality
• Time

“What we hope ever to do with ease we may learn first to do with diligence.”

Connecting eventual ease with patient practice · Lives of the Poets, Milton

• Art
• Time

“The hostility perpetually exercised between one man and another, is caused by the desire of many for that which only few can possess.”

Tracing social conflict to competition for scarce status and rewards · Rambler No. 183

• Despair
• Society