“I wonder, among all the tangles of this mortal coil, which one contains tighter knots to undo, & consequently suggests more tugging, & pain, & diversified elements of misery, than the marriage tie.”
Letter to John Hugh Smith (12 February 1909), published in The Letters of Edith Wharton (1988)
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Edith Wharton103
American novelist, short story writer, designer 1862–1937Related quotes
“Life is probably a tangle of love and hate permanently knotted together.”
Gao Xingjian book Soul Mountain
Source: Soul Mountain (1989), ch. 12, p. 70
“All knots that lovers tie
Are tied to sever.
Here shall your sweetheart lie,
Untrue for ever.”
A.E. Housman (1859–1936) English classical scholar and poet
Source: More Poems
“When you're at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, 26th president of the United States
“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) 32nd President of the United States
The earliest citation yet found does not attribute this to Roosevelt, but presents it as a piece of anonymous piece folk-wisdom: "When one reaches the end of his rope, he should tie a knot in it and hang on" ( LIFE magazine (3 April 1919), p. 585 http://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89063018576?urlappend=%3Bseq=65). <br class="br">Misattributed <br class="br">Variant: When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.