This counts as a consolation because it points us to that deeper wellspring of life and wisdom that, throughout the ages, promises to orient our consciences, to enflame our religious imaginations, and ...

The consolation prize always felt more wondrous than the trophy from a real win. You had failed, and yet the world treated you with pleasure anyway.

Consolation leads you to do everything spontaneously, as if we were children. But let’s be careful. We must distinguish well between the consolation that comes from God and false consolations.

In “On Consolation,” the prolific author, professor and former politician Michael Ignatieff pushes aside this commercial, foamy emotion and dives into the murkier waters beneath.