“It is our duty to seek to acquire the art of being cheerful. It will hold in check the demons of despair and stifle the power of discouragement and hopelessness.”

“There, then, he sat, the sign and symbol of a man without faith, hopelessly holding up hope in the midst of despair.”

“We speak much of the duty of making others happy. No day should pass, we say, on which we do not put a little cheer into some discouraged heart, make the path a little smoother for someone’s tired feet, or help some fainting robin unto its nest again. This is right. We cannot put too great emphasis upon the duty of giving happiness and cheer to others. But it is no less a duty that we should be happy and cheerful ourselves.”

“...despair can hold the most intense sorts of pleasure when one is strongly conscious of the hopelessness of one's position...”

“Being a cheerful hobbit, he had not needed hope, as long as despair could be postponed.”

“It's precisely in despair that you find the most intense pleasure, especially if you are already powerfully conscious of the hopelessness of your predicament.”