„A woman withers when she is watered only with tears.“

„A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water. “

—  Eleanor Roosevelt American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States 1884 - 1962

„Beware when making a woman cry. God is counting her tears.“

—  Paulo Coelho, book Adultery

Source: Adultery

„When a stargirl cries, she sheds not tears but light.“

—  Jerry Spinelli, book Stargirl

Source: Stargirl

„Léonie, you will do well to consider. You are not the first woman in my life."

She smiled through her tears. "Monseigneur, I would so much rather be the last woman than the first,” she said.“

—  Georgette Heyer, book These Old Shades

Source: These Old Shades

„A woman is like a teabag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.“

—  Nancy Pelosi American politician, first female Speaker of the House of Representatives, born 1940 1940

Interview with ABC News, as quoted by Hilary Clinton.
2000s

„When a man is attracted to a woman, being expected to take the sexual initiative does not increase his power, it increases his paralysis. The possibility of a lawsuit just intensifies the paralysis. Ironically, the more dangerous the waters, the more [telling dirty jokes] serves as a way of testing the waters: if she laughs, maybe she’s interested; if she looks disgusted, maybe she’s not. He would feel much more powerful if she took responsibility for testing the waters.“

—  Warren Farrell, book The Myth of Male Power

Source: The Myth of Male Power (1993), Part III: Government as substitute husband, p. 294.

„But woe awaits a country when
She sees the tears of bearded men.“

—  Walter Scott, Marmion

Canto V, stanza 16.
Marmion (1808)

„There's something wrong with a mother who washes out a measuring cup with soap and water after she's only measured water in it.“

—  Erma Bombeck When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and coul… 1927 - 1996

„The rolling wheel, that runneth often round,
The hardest steel in tract of time doth tear;
And drizzling drops, that often do redound,
The firmest flint doth in continuance wear:
Yet cannot I, with many a dropping tear,
And long entreaty, soften her hard heart,
That she will once vouchsafe my plaint to hear,
Or look with pity on my painful smart:
But when I plead, she bids me play my part;
And when I weep, she says, "Tears are but water";
And when I sigh, she says, "I know the art";
And when I wail, she turns herself to laughter;
So do I weep and wail, and plead in vain,
Whiles she as steel and flint doth still remain.“

—  Edmund Spenser, Amoretti

Amoretti (1595), Sonnet XVIII https://www.bartleby.com/358/784.html

„For human tears are lava-drops,
That scorch and wither as they flow;
Then let them flow for those who live,
And not for those who sleep below.“

—  Letitia Elizabeth Landon English poet and novelist 1802 - 1838

The Churchyard from The London Literary Gazette (3rd January 1829)
The Vow of the Peacock (1835)

„Rocking back and forth, she clutched the sword like it was the only thing she had ever loved, and let the blood spill down instead of tears.“

—  Cassandra Clare, book City of Heavenly Fire

Source: City of Heavenly Fire

„She sent him scented letters,
And he received them with a strange delight.
Just like his wife
But how she was before the tears,
And how she was before the years flew by,
And how she was when she was beautiful.“

—  Kate Bush British recording artist; singer, songwriter, musician and record producer 1958

Song lyrics, Never for Ever (1980)

„The birds depart, the flowers wither, the branches are dislodged and drift downward; no trace is left of the floating island but a stone submerged by the water; — such is our personality.“

—  Cyril Connolly, book The Unquiet Grave

Part I: Ecce Gubernator (p. 20)
The Unquiet Grave (1944)
Context: A stone lies in a river; a piece of wood is jammed against it; dead leaves, drifting logs, and branches caked with mud collect; weeds settle there, and soon birds have made a nest and are feeding their young among the blossoming water plants. Then the river rises and the earth is washed away. The birds depart, the flowers wither, the branches are dislodged and drift downward; no trace is left of the floating island but a stone submerged by the water; — such is our personality.

„A soldier of the Legion lay dying in Algiers;
There was lack of woman’s nursing, there was dearth of woman’s tears.“

—  Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton English feminist, social reformer, and author 1808 - 1877

Bingen on the Rhine.

„Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.“

—  Sylvia Plath, book Crossing the Water

"Mirror" http://www.angelfire.com/tn/plath/mirror.html
Crossing the Water (1971)

„When maiden loves, she sits and sighs,
She wanders to and fro -
Unbidden tear-drops fill her eyes,
And to all questions she replies
With a sad "heigh ho!"“

—  W. S. Gilbert English librettist of the Gilbert & Sullivan duo 1836 - 1911

The Yeomen of the Guard (1888)

„She would wonder what had hurt her when she found her face wet with tears, and then would wonder how she could have been hurt without knowing it.“

—  George MacDonald, book The Day Boy and the Night Girl

Source: The Day Boy and the Night Girl

„Sometimes when she told stories about the past her eyes would get teary from all the memories she had, but they weren't tears. She wasn't crying. They were just the memories, leaking out.“

—  Ruth Ozeki, book A Tale for the Time Being

Source: A Tale for the Time Being

„She's a tear that hangs inside my soul forever“

—  Jeff Buckley American singer, guitarist and songwriter 1966 - 1997