For sorrow is our joy, And joy our greatest sorrow. Elissa dies tonight, And Carthage flames tomorrow.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Emotions are inverted, and personal loss coincides with impending disaster.
- In plain terms
- Sadness feels like joy and joy feels like sadness as death and fire approach.
- What can you take from it?
- Tragedy distorts emotional perception and outlook.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does tragedy change how we feel?
Another view
The reference to Elissa and Carthage requires external knowledge to fully grasp.
More from Nahum Tate
While shepherds watched their flocks by night, All seated on the ground, The angel of the Lord came down, And glory shone around.
Permalink to quote #1 And silence their mourning With vows of returning But never intending to visit them more. No never, no never, intending to visit them more.
Permalink to quote #3
Related quotes
Riding in a taxi one afternoon between very tall buildings under a mauve and rosy sky; I began to bawl because I had everything I wanted and knew I would never…
F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald quote #74 Child of mortality, whence comest thou? Why is thy countenance sad, and why are thine eyes red with weeping?
Anna Letitia BarbauldAnna Letitia Barbauld quote #1 A boy's hunched body loved out of a stalk The first song of his happiness, and the song woke His heart to the darkness and into the sadness of joy.
Galway KinnellGalway Kinnell quote #1