"A pessimist and an optimist, so much the worse; so much the better"
About this Quote
A pessimist and an optimist walk into the same world and La Fontaine refuses to give either of them the dignity of a final verdict. “So much the worse; so much the better” is a miniature seesaw: two temperaments, two outcomes, both instantly undercut by the other’s presence. The line works because it treats outlook not as wisdom but as a reflex, a lens you snap into place. Whatever happens, the pessimist can claim confirmation; whatever happens, the optimist can claim possibility. La Fontaine’s sting is that both can be right in a way that’s almost useless.
As a 17th-century fabulist, he wrote in an age that loved moral instruction but distrusted moral grandstanding. Fables let him talk about power, vanity, scarcity, and self-deception while pretending to talk about animals. This epigram carries that same sly doubleness: it offers a neat symmetry that looks like balance, then reveals a trap. If “worse” and “better” are always available interpretations, then interpretation becomes less a response to reality than a performance of character.
The subtext is social. Pessimism and optimism aren’t just private moods; they’re strategies in public life. Pessimism can be a shield (I expected betrayal), optimism a currency (I can sell you hope). La Fontaine compresses a whole politics of temperament into eight words, suggesting that our declared outlooks often say more about how we want to be seen than about what is actually happening.
As a 17th-century fabulist, he wrote in an age that loved moral instruction but distrusted moral grandstanding. Fables let him talk about power, vanity, scarcity, and self-deception while pretending to talk about animals. This epigram carries that same sly doubleness: it offers a neat symmetry that looks like balance, then reveals a trap. If “worse” and “better” are always available interpretations, then interpretation becomes less a response to reality than a performance of character.
The subtext is social. Pessimism and optimism aren’t just private moods; they’re strategies in public life. Pessimism can be a shield (I expected betrayal), optimism a currency (I can sell you hope). La Fontaine compresses a whole politics of temperament into eight words, suggesting that our declared outlooks often say more about how we want to be seen than about what is actually happening.
Quote Details
| Topic | Optimism |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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