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Gay hope is theirs by fancy fed,
Less pleasing when possest;
The tear forgot as soon as shed,
The sunshine of the breast.

— Thomas Gray Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College (1742)

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Hope

More quotes by Thomas Gray

Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.

The Progress of Poesy: A Pindaric Ode (1754)

And weep the more, because I weep in vain.

The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

Dear, as the light that visits these sad eyes;
Dear, as the ruddy drops that warm my heart.

The Bard (1757)

Rich windows that exclude the light,
And passages that lead to nothing.

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Life doesn't end just because someone leaves.

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Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.

Helen Keller Optimism (1903)

Always believe in your dreams, because if you don't, you'll still have hope.

Mahatma Gandhi

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, regardless of how it turns out.

Václav Havel Disturbing the Peace (1986)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Thomas Gray (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.