“Profundity must smile.”

The Inferno (1917), Ch. XVI
Context: The woman from the depths of her rags, a waif, a martyr — smiled. She must have a divine heart to be so tired and yet smile. She loved the sky, the light, which the unformed little being would love some day. She loved the chilly dawn, the sultry noontime, the dreamy evening. The child would grow up, a saviour, to give life to everything again. Starting at the dark bottom he would ascend the ladder and begin life over again, life, the only paradise there is, the bouquet of nature. He would make beauty beautiful. He would make eternity over again with his voice and his song. And clasping the new-born infant close, she looked at all the sunlight she had given the world. Her arms quivered like wings. She dreamed in words of fondling. She fascinated all the passersby that looked at her. And the setting sun bathed her neck and head in a rosy reflection. She was like a great rose that opens its heart to the whole world.

"Love and Black Magic"
Fairies and Fusiliers (1917)

Impromptu speech at a dinner for visiting East German dignitaries, Moscow (September 17, 1955), as reported by The New York Times (September 18, 1955), p. 19.

The Smile, st. 1
1800s, Poems from the Pickering Manuscript (c. 1805)

Original: (it) Eventi duri, difficili o tristi appartengono ad ogni essere. Ogniqualvolta dovesse capitare di averne, bisogna seriamente pensare se per quella situazione valga davvero la pena farsi togliere il sorriso. Chi ha e sa donare sorriso, è padrone del mondo intero.
Source: prevale.net

Birgitte Silverbow
Variant: If you must mount the gallows, give a jest to the crowd, a coin to the hangman, and make the drop with a smile on your lips.
Source: The Fires of Heaven (15 October 1993)

Be Generous!