---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This one sits shivering in Fortune's…"
description: "\"This one sits shivering in Fortune's smile, taking his joy with bated, doubtful breath. This other, gnawed by hunger, all the while laughs in the teeth..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/815/thomas-bailey-aldrich-4098_breaths_this-one-sits-shivering-in-fortune-s-smi_1632425.jpg"
---

#  This one sits shivering in Fortune's smile, taking his joy…

![“This one sits shivering in Fortune's smile, taking his joy with bated, doubtful breath. This other, gnawed by hunger, all the while laughs in the teeth of Death.” quote by Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/815/thomas-bailey-aldrich-4098_breaths_this-one-sits-shivering-in-fortune-s-smi_1632425.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/815/thomas-bailey-aldrich-4098_breaths_this-one-sits-shivering-in-fortune-s-smi_1632425.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/815/thomas-bailey-aldrich-4098_breaths_this-one-sits-shivering-in-fortune-s-smi_1632425.jpg)

> “This one sits shivering in Fortune's smile, taking his joy with bated, doubtful breath. This other, gnawed by hunger, all the while laughs in the teeth of Death.”

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A contrast between a fearful, hesitant joy and a defiant, hungry laughter in the face of death.

**In simple terms:** Fearful joy vs. defiant laughter confronting death.

Key Takeaway

Embrace courage despite fear.

Themes

fear joy defiance death contrasts

Mood

reflective somber

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal crisis
- grief coping
- mortality contemplation

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology resilience

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you confront fear when joy feels fragile?
- What fuels laughter amid danger?

A Different Perspective

Fear may paralyze action despite awareness.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Doubtful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubtful/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Fortune Smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune-smile-496519/) [Gnawed Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gnawed-hunger-496520/) [Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Hunger Laughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger-laughs-496517/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing/) [Laughs Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughs-teeth-496521/) [Optimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimism/) [Shivering Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shivering-fortune-496518/) [Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/)

## Related quotes

> [Beauty's a doubtful good, a glass, a flower, Lost, faded, broken, dead within an hour; And beauty, blemish'd once, for ever's lost, In spite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/beauty-s-a-doubtful-good-a-glass-a-flower-lost-faded-broken-dead/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply." God actually rises up storms of conflict in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-doubtful-whether-god-can-bless-a-man-greatly-until-he-has-hurt/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The first men who set out for Mars had better make sure they leave everything at home in apple-pie order. They won't get back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/the-first-men-who-set-out-for-mars-had-better-make-sure-they-leave/)

[Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/)

> [It is doubtful if even experience of riches and success is as intense among those who have experienced nothing else as among those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson-lynd/it-is-doubtful-if-even-experience-of-riches-and-success-is-as-intense/)

[Robert Wilson Lynd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson-lynd/)

> [The wise are doubtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-wise-are-doubtful/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [At times it has been doubtful to me if Emerson really knows or feels what Poetry is at its highest, as in the Bible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/at-times-it-has-been-doubtful-to-me-if-emerson-really-knows-or-feels/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [Look at Mann's reading habits, his explicit comments on Nietzsche, and his copy of Birth of Tragedy, and it starts to seem doubtful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/look-at-mann-s-reading-habits-his-explicit-comments-on-nietzsche-and/)

[Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/)

> [The world is deceitful; her end is doubtful, her conclusion is horrible, her judge terrible, and her judgment is intolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-is-deceitful-her-end-is-doubtful-her-conclusion-is-horrible/)

[Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/)

> [It is beginning to be doubtful whether Parliament and Congress sit in Westminster and Washington, or in the editorial rooms of the leading journals,--so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-is-beginning-to-be-doubtful-whether-parliament-and-congress-sit-in/)

[James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/)

> [A man who carries a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful. He isn't likely to grow dim or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-who-carries-a-cat-by-the-tail-is-getting-experience-that-will/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [We ought not to be over-anxious to encourage innovation in cases of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-ought-not-to-be-over-anxious-to-encourage-innovation-in-cases-of/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place...The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping; not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/what-we-suffer-from-today-is-humility-in-the-wrong-place-the-old/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [It is doubtful whether mankind are most indebted to those who like Bacon and Butler dig the gold from the mine of literature, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-doubtful-whether-mankind-are-most-indebted-to-those-who-like/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/)

[Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/)

> [“Joshua to Angela: "Please, Angela, do it for me… and you never know you just might have fun." She looked at him warily. "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-roberts/joshua-to-angela-please-angela-do-it-for-me-and-you-never-know-you/)

[Patti Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-roberts/)

## More by Thomas Bailey Aldrich

> [No bird has ever uttered note That was not in some first bird's throat; Since Eden's freshness and man's fall No rose has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/no-bird-has-ever-uttered-note-that-was-not-in-some-first-bird-s/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [There is no man at once so unselfish and selfish as a man in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/there-is-no-man-at-once-so-unselfish-and-selfish-as-a-man-in-love/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [I have frequently noticed how circumstances conspire to help a man, or a boy, when he has thoroughly resolved on doing a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/i-have-frequently-noticed-how-circumstances-conspire-to-help-a-man-or/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [Everywhere on the Continent, the tourist is looked upon as a bird to be plucked, and presently the bird himself feebly comes to regard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/everywhere-on-the-continent-the-tourist-is-looked-upon-as-a-bird-to/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [Imagine all human beings swept off the face of the earth, excepting one man. Imagine this man in some vast city, New York or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/imagine-all-human-beings-swept-off-the-face-of-the-earth-excepting/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [The possession of gold has ruined fewer men than the lack of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/the-possession-of-gold-has-ruined-fewer-men-than-the-lack-of-it/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [“..Fell over the prostrate steersman, and there we all lay in a heep, two or three of us quite picturesque with the nosebleed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/fell-over-the-prostrate-steersman-and-there-we-all-lay-in-a-heep-two/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [A man should have duties outside of himself; without them, he is a mere balloon, inflated with thin egotism and drifting nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/a-man-should-have-duties-outside-of-himself-without-them-he-is-a-mere/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [Great thoughts in crude, unshapely verse set forth lose half their preciousness, and ever must, unless the diamond with its own rich dust be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/great-thoughts-in-crude-unshapely-verse-set-forth-lose-half-their/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [So I sit there kicked my heels, thinking about New Orleans, and watching a morbid blue-bottle fly attempt to commit suicide by butting his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/so-i-sit-there-kicked-my-heels-thinking-about-new-orleans-and/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [What is more cheerful, now, in the fall of the year, than an open-wood-fire? Do you hear those little chirps and twitters coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/what-is-more-cheerful-now-in-the-fall-of-the-year-than-an-open-wood/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [Decoration Day is the most beautiful of our national holidays… The grim cannon have turned into palm branches, and the shell and shrapnel into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/decoration-day-is-the-most-beautiful-of-our-national-holidays-the/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [Famous old houses seem to have an intuitive perception of the value of corner lots. If it is a possible thing, they always set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/famous-old-houses-seem-to-have-an-intuitive-perception-of-the-value/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [Every man has within himself a gold mine whose riches are limited only by his own industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/every-man-has-within-himself-a-gold-mine-whose-riches-are-limited/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [The fate of the worm refutes the pretended ethical teaching of the proverb, which assumes to illustrate the advantage of early rising and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/the-fate-of-the-worm-refutes-the-pretended-ethical-teaching-of-the/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

[Explore all 116 Thomas Bailey Aldrich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

## More Breaths quotes

> [Don't let a breath escape from your body without Krishna's name. That should be our determination throughout our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/don-t-let-a-breath-escape-from-your-body-without-krishna-s-name-that/)

[Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/)

> [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realised, 'I am killing him - all for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/many-years-ago-i-was-fishing-and-as-i-was-reeling-in-the-poor-fish-i/)

[Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/)

> [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/)

[Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/)

> [God is greater than anything that man can do or has done. He is not undone by just a train of powder. "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/god-is-greater-than-anything-that-man-can-do-or-has-done-he-is-not/)

[Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/)

> [One day I was running around playing with my son Connor when afterwards I was sweating, tired and out of breath. I was embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/one-day-i-was-running-around-playing-with-my-son-connor-when/)

[Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/)

> [Dave Wann's recipes from his own experience in Simple Prosperity are a breath of fresh air, and just what we need for a saner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-henderson/dave-wann-s-recipes-from-his-own-experience-in-simple-prosperity-are/)

[Hazel Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-henderson/)

> [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/)

[Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/)

> [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [The river is motion, turmoil, rage. As the river flows, it wonders what it would be like to be so still, to take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kekla-magoon/the-river-is-motion-turmoil-rage-as-the-river-flows-it-wonders-what/)

[Kekla Magoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kekla-magoon/)

> [Remember that no matter how selfish, how cruel, how unfeeling you have been today, every time you take a breath, you make a flower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/remember-that-no-matter-how-selfish-how-cruel-how-unfeeling-you-have/)

[Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/)

> [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [“Listen to this, Nimit. Follow Coleman Hawkins' improvised lines very carefully. He is using them to tell us something. Pay very close attention. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/listen-to-this-nimit-follow-coleman-hawkins-improvised-lines-very/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [Every body resisted (the slaughterer) in its own fashion, tried to escape and seemed to argue with the Creator to its last breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/every-body-resisted-the-slaughterer-in-its-own-fashion-tried-to/)

[Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/)

> [We had a dog, Apples. He was 13 years old, toothless, blind and had the worst breath this side of Jabba the Hut. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlee-matlin/we-had-a-dog-apples-he-was-13-years-old-toothless-blind-and-had-the/)

[Marlee Matlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlee-matlin/)

[Browse all 1,609 Breaths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "This one sits shivering in Fortune's smile, taking his joy with bated, doubtful breath. This other, gnawed by hunger, all the while laughs in the teeth of Death.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Bailey Aldrich"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/this-one-sits-shivering-in-fortune-s-smile-taking-his-joy-with-bated/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Breaths"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/this-one-sits-shivering-in-fortune-s-smile-taking-his-joy-with-bated/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/815/thomas-bailey-aldrich-4098_breaths_this-one-sits-shivering-in-fortune-s-smi_1632425.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/815/thomas-bailey-aldrich-4098_breaths_this-one-sits-shivering-in-fortune-s-smi_1632425.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/815/thomas-bailey-aldrich-4098_breaths_this-one-sits-shivering-in-fortune-s-smi_1632425.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“This one sits shivering in Fortune's smile, taking his joy with bated, doubtful breath. This other, gnawed…” — Thomas Bailey Aldrich",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Thomas Bailey Aldrich",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "This one sits shivering in Fortune's...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/this-one-sits-shivering-in-fortune-s-smile-taking-his-joy-with-bated/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/this-one-sits-shivering-in-fortune-s-smile-taking-his-joy-with-bated/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
