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So nixt to simmer, winter bein,
Nixt eftir comfort, cairis kein,
Nixt derk midnicht the mirthful morrow;
Nixt eftir joy ay cumis sorow.
So is this warld, and ay hes bein.

— William Dunbar

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Source: So next to summer, winter will be, / Next after comfort, cares keen, / Next dark midnight the mirthful morrow; / Next after joy aye comes sorrow. / So is this world, and aye has been.
Source quality: Source identified Names the work or year, but without an exact location.

More by William Dunbar

Ay farest faderis hes farrest fowlis.
Aye fairest feathers have the farthest fowls.

All luve is lost bot upone God allone.

He hes done peteouslie devour,
The noble Chawcer of makaris flouir,
The Monk of Bery, and Gower, all thré;
Timor mortis conturbat me.

The Lament for the Makars (1505)

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Notes from Wikiquote

"Of the Changis of Lyfe", st. 4

More quotes by William Dunbar

London, thou art the flour of cities all!

Aye [always] fairest feathers have the farthest fowls.

Man, pleis thy makar and be mirry,
And sett not by this warld a chirry.

My deathe chasis my lyfe so besalie
That wery is my goist to fle so fast.

All wemen of us suld haif honoring,
Service and luve, aboif all uthir thing.

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Attribution

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