board77

I've been reading a really cool biography of a really cool guy, and I thought I'd see if any of you could guess who said this:

Quote:

In the midst of prosperity the mind is elated, and in prosperity a man forgets himself; in hardship he is forced to reflect on himself, even though he be unwilling. In prosperity a man often destroys the good he has done; amidst difficulties he often repairs what he long since did in the way of wickedness.

I'm still pondering whether I agree with the quote or not...

P.S. No googling! But you can ask for hints if you like

Winston Churchill.

That's my blind guess.

ETA: I think agree with all except for, perhaps, the third sentence. "In prosperity a man often destroys the good he has done...."

It's the same principle as, say, from the book of James:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (1:2-4)

or maybe

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (I Peter 1:6-7)

Nope!

I edited stuff back in.

How about Benjamin Franklin?

Not him, either.

I think I can agree more with the second and third statement, since they include the word "often". But the first statement is more of a blanket generalization, and doesn't allow for exceptions.

Hint: I can confidently state that nobody reading this was born yet when this guy died.

It has the smell of Dickens about it but could easily come from half a century earlier.

As to whether I agree; well I think poverty makes one consider morality more than riches but it's too broad a statement to be a reliable signpost to behaviour.

ETA Not Dickens. No one would call him a cool guy.

And Tosh is right!!!!

(right, in that it's not Dickens)

Our only clues so far are the style of language, the likelihood that the fellow experienced both poverty and riches and Marco's approval of him. I'd need a bit more to go on but let other folk have a bash before you give out hints.
One guess then: Teddy Roosevelt.

No, not Teddy.

I should point out that the quote is a translation; the language has undergone quite a few changes since he first wrote it.

Is it a Roman?

Why are you asking us, you're the one with the book!



I don't have any guesses, but I would like to know.

No, he's not Roman.

Dawn, I'm asking because I thought it would be a fun quiz

Another hint: he wanted to promote learning & knowledge, and translated many works into English - an unusual achievement for most people of his profession.

He even translated the first 50 psalms; it is believed that he meant to translate all 150, but ran out of time.

Shakespear.

It was the Psalms that gave it away for me.

Thank you and good night.

Chewbacca?

Not Shakepeare, and not even Chewbacca, surprisingly enough.

Ah jeeze.


JRR Tolkien

Real guess: Buddha?

Tyndale must have translated much more than 50 psalms. Edward VI sounds a little too late, Wycliff too early.
Hmmm.

Ascham?

Not Tolkien, Buddha, or Ascham.

Tosh, did Edward VI really translate psalms into English? I never knew that!

Didn't he only live to be about 16 or so?

Marco wrote:

Not Tolkien, Buddha, or Ascham.

Tosh, did Edward VI really translate psalms into English? I never knew that!

Didn't he only live to be about 16 or so?

Edward VI did not probably do it at all himself, but in his name. He was very much wanting to make England Protestant again after his sister's reign, and was almost zealous in his support of the new "true" Protestant faith(s). Of course, he was also exploited to the extreme by those in his court. Who knows what was truly done by his will or by those stating it was his will.

To answer the original question, I am guessing that this guy lived long ago, since he himself needs to be translated into modern English while trying to put Psalms into English. That makes me think far older than anything Tudor. Yet, Jude hints that while we would normally associate this with a cleric or church official, this is not the case.

Stabbing at air here, so I will come up with Chaucer, am I even close?