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"Let byegones be byegones,”—they foolishly say,
And bid me be wise and forget them;
But old recollections are active to-day,
And I can do nought but regret them;
Though the present be pleasant, all joyous and gay,
And promising well for the morrow,
I love to look back on the years past away,
Embalming my byegones in sorrow.

— Martin Farquhar Tupper Ballads for the Times (1851)

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More quotes by Martin Farquhar Tupper

Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.

Proverbial Philosophy (1838)

Tell me, ye that strive in vain to cramp and dwarf the soul,
Wherefore should it cease to be, and when shall essence die?

Proverbial Philosophy (1838)

Never give up! it is wiser and better
Always to hope, than once to despair.
Fling off the load of Doubt's cankering fetter,
And break the dark spell of tyrannical care.

Ballads for the Times (1851)

A good book is the best of friends, the same today and forever.

Proverbial Philosophy (1838)

Wait, thou child of hope, for Time shall teach thee all things.

Proverbial Philosophy (1838)

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Attribution

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