“The ordeals of others . . .prepare us, andlater become the compass . . .in our time of ordeal.”

“You’ve had many ordeals in the past. During these ordeals, life seemed unbearable. You may have collapsed from the exhaustion of hopelessness and curled into a fetal position. Regardless of how difficult this new ordeal may be, as with the others, this too will be overcome. It will make you stronger.”

“I do strongly feel that among the greatest pieces of luck for high achievement is ordeal. Certain great artists can make out without it, Titian and others, but mostly you need ordeal. My idea is this: the artist is extremely lucky who is presented with the worst possible ordeal which will not actually kill him. At that point, he's in business: Beethoven's deafness, Goya's deafness, Milton's blindness, that kind of thing.”

“The difference between an adventure and an ordeal is attitude.”

“Marriage . . . is not a love affair; it is an ordeal. (92)”

“Preparation:allows you to prevent . . .the intensity of the ordeal.”