The worst is not
So long as we can say, "This is the worst."
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 4, Scene 1. Edgar, impersonating a mad beggar, meets with his father for the first time in a while and sees that he has been blinded. He realizes that his own life, no matter how low his fortunes have sunk, is not the "worst." To be able to speak the words "This is the worst" is a blessing in itself, he reasons.