Before man's fall the rose was born,
St. Ambrose says, without the thorn;
But for man's fault then was the thorn
Without the fragrant rose-bud born;
But ne'er the rose without the thorn.

Another quote →

Notes from Wikiquote

Compare: "Flower of all hue, and without thorn the rose", John Milton, Paradise Lost, book iv, l. 256; "Every rose has it's thorn", Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

More quotes by Robert Herrick

All Robert Herrick quotes →

Attribution

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