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better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Often claimed to be an ancient Chinese proverb. Also often misattributed to Eleanor Roosevelt.
Earliest known usage is a 1907 sermon by English preacher William Lonsdale Watkinson.
Proverb
better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness
- Even in the face of hopelessness and discontent, it is more worthwhile to do some good, however small, in response, than to complain about the situation.
Translations
in bad times it is worthwhile to do good
References
- ^ Watkinson, William Lonsdale (1907) “Sermon XIV: The Invincible Strategy, (Romans: xii, 21)”, in The Supreme Conquest and Other Sermons Preached in America by W. L. Watkinson, F. H. Revell Company, page 218
- ^ O'Toole, Garson (2017 March 19) “Better to Light a Candle Than to Curse the Darkness”, in Quote Investigator, retrieved 16 September 2022