Good is I graunt of all to hope the best, But not to liue still dreadles of the worst.
[1565 Norton & Sackville Gorboduc i. ii.]
To hope the best, and feare the worst, (loe, such is Loouers gaines).
[1581 W. Averell Charles & Julia D7]
This Maxim ought to be carest, Provide against the worst, and hope the best.
[1706 E. Ward Third Volume 337]
To hope for the best and prepare for the worst, is a trite but a good maxim.
[1813 J. Jay Correspondence (1893) IV. 367]
The youngest of us cannot always escape—hoping, trusting, relying on the best, we should be prepared for the worst.
[1836 E. Howard Rattlin the Reefer II. xxix.]
‘We must all hope for the best,’ Mrs. Seeton chided him gently. ‘As my nanny used to say: “Hope for the best, expect the worst—and take what comes.”’
[1999 ‘H. Crane’ Miss Seeton's Finest Hour i. 7]
Related to: foresight and hindsight
Bibliography of major proverb collections and works cited from modern editions is available here.
