Pessimist Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old pessimist quotes, pessimist sayings, and pessimist proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

I'm a pessimist about probabilities, I'm an optimist about possibilities. Lewis Mumford
The man who is a pessimist before 48 knows too much if he is an optimist after it, he knows too little. Mark Twain
Men are always optimists when they look inwards, and pessimists when they look round them. Ouida
An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out? Rene Descartes
I am not a pessimist; to perceive evil where it exists is, in my opinion, a form of optimism. Roberto Rossellini
It is most important in creative science not to give up. If you are an optimist you will be willing to "try" more than if you are a pessimist. Stanislaw Ulam
Pessimism is the logical attitude to adopt about the human condition. Yet there is no need to consider this conclusion depressing. On the contrary, I consider it to be a realistic one that gives due weight to the catalogue of evidence available to us, providing an antidote to optimism. Stuart Sim
Pessimists are usually right and optimists are usually wrong but all the great changes have been accomplished by optimists. Thomas Friedman
Pessimism is playing the sure game. You cannot lose at it; you may gain. It is the only view of life in which you can never be disappointed. Having reckoned what to do in the worst possible circumstances, when better arise, as they may, life becomes child's play. Thomas Hardy
Pessimism is an excuse for not trying and a guarantee to a personal failure. William J. Clinton