“It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!”

1850s, Address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society (1859)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Oct. 1, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should …" by Abraham Lincoln?

Abraham Lincoln618

16th President of the United States 1809–1865

Related quotes

“How much filth there is in the Church, even among those who, in the priesthood, should belong entirely to Him. How much pride, how much self-sufficiency.”

Pope Benedict XVI (1927) 265th Pope of the Catholic Church

At a Good Friday devotion, the Stations of the Cross, in 2005, seen by many as a statement about the clergy sex abuse scandal
2005

“The fool hath said … The fool hath said
And we, who deemed him wise,
We, who believed that Thou wast dead,
How should we seek Thine eyes?How should we seek to Thee for power,
Who scorned Thee yesterday?
How should we kneel in this dread hour?
Lord, teach us how to pray.”

Alfred Noyes (1880–1958) English poet

Dedication, later published as "A Prayer in Time of War"
A Belgian Christmas Eve (1915)

“Life is not long, and too much of it must not pass in idle deliberation how it shall be spent.”

Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer

“Remember that sore saying spoken once
By Him that was the Truth, 'How hard it is
For the rich man to enter into heaven!'
Let all rich men remember that hard word.”

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) British poet laureate

Act iv, scene 3
Queen Mary: A Drama (published 1876)

“Sometimes it was hard to express how much you loved someone. You said the words, but you could never quite capture the depth of it. You could never quite hold someone tightly enough.”

Diane Chamberlain (1950) American writer

Source: The Midwife's Confession

“How was he to cause war, as the prophecies say he must? How was he to break the nations and bind them to him? How could he 'slay his people with the sword of peace' or 'bind the nine moons to serve him' if he was locked away? Do the prophecies say that he will be 'unfettered'? Do they not speak of the 'chaos of his passing?”

Robert Jordan (1948–2007) American writer

How can anything pass at all if he is kept in chains?
Egwene al'Vere, addressing Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan, Amyrlin Seat of the White Tower
The Gathering Storm (27 October 2009)