Why , alas! is life decreed Full of pain and full of sorrow? All uncertain as it is, Can we rest upon to-morrow? Why should blessings yet in store, Hold us still in expectation? Leading thro' succeeding sorrows, By some fond anticipation: 'Tis to give a tender interest To the scenes in which we're moving: While those hopes so often blasted, Sensual pleasures are reproving.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Life is full of pain and uncertainty, yet hope and anticipation give meaning to our experiences.
- In plain terms
- Pain and uncertainty are softened by hopeful anticipation.
- What can you take from it?
- Hold onto hopeful expectations despite hardship.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does anticipation help you endure pain?
- When might hope be counterproductive?
Another view
Unrealistic hope can delay necessary action.
More from Elizabeth Bath
Forever seeking, never found, In this wide varied scene; Sole object of unceasing search, While in this low terrene. Yet vain the search, if in the heart Some …
Permalink to quote #1
Related quotes
The moment is ripe: leave the heart and the mind behind you, go forward, take the third step. Free yourself from the simple complacency of the mind that thinks…
Nikos KazantzakisNikos Kazantzakis quote #23 Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, re…
Vaclav HavelVaclav Havel quote #41 Something was dead in each of us, And what was dead was Hope.
Oscar WildeOscar Wilde quote #209