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And the tear that is wiped with a little address,
May be follow'd perhaps by a smile.

— William Cowper Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed (1919)

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Sadness

More quotes by William Cowper

Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much;
Wisdom is humble that he knows no more.

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Olney Hymns (1779)

I believe no man was ever scolded out of his sins.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Olney Hymns (1779)

Men deal with life as children with their play,
Who first misuse, then cast their toys away.

All William Cowper quotes →

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Life could not be lived wet, whether it be in rain or tears.

Sanu Sharma

In much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Solomon

In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young, it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares.

Abraham Lincoln

Every joy that some experience is paid for by the sorrow of others.

Kaneko Fumiko The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)

Attribution

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