Ludwig van Beethoven

I must confess that I lead a miserable life. For almost two years, I have ceased to attend any social functions, just because I find it impossible to say to people, 'I am deaf.' If I had any other profession, I might be able to cope with my infirmity; but in my profession, it is a terrible handicap.

German Composer

Scott Gottlieb

Many inherited disorders can perpetuate poverty by leading to disabilities that disrupt people's ability to work. In turn, someone's capacity to secure an effective new cure for these diseases can mean the difference between a life led productively, or one plagued by infirmity.

American Public Servant

Eleanor Roosevelt

Probably the happiest period in life most frequently is in middle age, when the eager passions of youth are cooled, and the infirmities of age not yet begun; as we see that the shadows, which are at morning and evening so large, almost entirely disappear at midday.

American First Lady

William Godwin

The admission of one man, either hereditarily or for life only, into the place of chief of a country, is an evidence of the infirmity of man. Nature has set up no difference between a king and other men; a king, therefore, is purely the creation of our own hands.

English Writer

Christopher Gadsden

The present times require the vigor and the activity of the prime of life; but I feel the increasing infirmities of age to such a degree, that I am conscious I cannot serve you to advantage.

American Soldier

Thomas Hobbes

Laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from some sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmity of others, or with our own formerly.

English Philosopher

Katie Hopkins

I've always said when age or infirmity gets the better of me, I'm off to whichever civilised country lets the elderly die with dignity.

English Entertainer

Geoffrey Fisher

Who knows whether in retirement I shall be tempted to the last infirmity of mundane minds, which is to write a book.

Clergyman

Michel de Montaigne

Of all our infirmities, the most savage is to despise our being.

French Philosopher

James M. Barrie

Ambition - it is the last infirmity of noble minds.

British Playwright

Often linked with older age; isn't used much for young people unless they're severely ill.

Age Association

Mainly refers to physical strength, not mental capabilities or emotional states.

Physical Context

Infirmity suggests a condition that can improve, unlike a permanent disability.

Not Disability

Means more than illness; implies ongoing challenges with daily activities.

Medical Nuance

Generally indicates a serious condition, not a common cold or minor ailment.

Seriousness

Can refer to internal conditions that aren't immediately apparent to others.

Not Always Visible

 if we believe that it's purposeful. Ease makes less of an impression on us than struggle. We could have been ourselves without our delights, but not without the misfortunes that drive our search for meaning. "Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities," St. Paul wrote in Second Corinthians,

How the worst moments in...

 Built this home himself with the proceeds of his writing. Disaster struck when he was a toddler because he contracted polio and because of his infirmity, he was quite lonely and his imagination was fired with all the stories of the Borders. Shall we take a travel back in time