| 1. | Villona was in good humour because he had had a very satisfactory luncheon and besides he was an optimist by nature. - from Dubliners by James Joyce |
| 2. | "Why, good God you will be deceived just the same," said Athos, who was an optimist when things were concerned, and a pessimist when men were in question. - from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, Pere |
| 3. | The optimist temperament of some great writers has assisted the creation of it, while the opposite character has led a few to regard the future of the world as dark. - from The Republic by Plato |
| 4. | The dry high spirits of this destroyer of optimism make most optimists look damp and depressed. - from Candide by Voltaire |