We look before and after,
And pine for what is not,
Our sincerest laughter
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We look before and after,
And pine for what is not,
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught:
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.

Sadness does not inhere in things; it does not reach us from the world and through mere contemplation of the read more

Sadness does not inhere in things; it does not reach us from the world and through mere contemplation of the world. It is a product of our own thought. We create it out of whole cloth.

The human mind can bear plenty of reality but not too much intermittent gloom.

The human mind can bear plenty of reality but not too much intermittent gloom.

What is the source of sadness, but feebleness of the mind? What giveth it power but the want of reason? read more

What is the source of sadness, but feebleness of the mind? What giveth it power but the want of reason? Rouse thyself to the combat, and she quitteth the field before thou strikest.

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
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A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.

Of all tales 'tis the saddest--and more sad,
Because it makes us smile.

Of all tales 'tis the saddest--and more sad,
Because it makes us smile.

Yet be sad, good brothers,
For, by my faith, it very well becomes you.
Sorrow so royally read more

Yet be sad, good brothers,
For, by my faith, it very well becomes you.
Sorrow so royally in you appears
That I will deeply put the fashion on
And wear it in my heart.

There can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm.

There can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm.

It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt
you to the heart: the one to slander read more

It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt
you to the heart: the one to slander you and the other to get
the news to you.