The sources of pessimism

Having read (twice) the entire 11-volume series of The Story Of Civilization by Will & Ariel Durant, we concluded it was the education of a lifetime. In their book, Interpretations Of Life, they address the question of why people are so unhappy.

We quote:

“In 1770, Edmund Burke issued a pamphlet entitled “Thoughts On the Cause Of the Present Discontents”. Obviously, discontent is a perennial, if only because there is a sly satisfaction in being superior to the world. The sources of pessimism vary from century to century, but they derive from two persistent facts: (1) desire always outruns fulfillment; and (2) we are, or have to be, more keenly aware of our hurts and woes than of our health and blessings. Health and good fortune are not crises that demand immediate attention; ailments and mishaps, however, send urgent and useful warnings to consciousness through pangs of pain or grief. In like manner the pessimists who call our attention to actual or impending evils are a beneficent nuisance, and their harsh strictures rightfully carry more sound and weight than the diffident reminders, from gayer spirits, that amid the flowers of evil many roses bloom.”