There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief.
But were there ever any Writhed not at passed joy?
A happy memory is perhaps on this earth truer than happiness itself.
No sorrow is deeper than the remembrance of happiness when in misery.
And now I have to stop. Because every time I remember this, I have to cry a little by myself. I don't know why something that made me so happy then feels so sad now. Maybe that is the way it is with the best memories.
The pleasant life: a life that successfully pursues the positive emotions about the present, past, and future.
Just because a marriage ended didn't mean that it hadn't been happy at times.
And was the day of my delight As pure and perfect as I say?
And often, glad no more, We wear a face of joy because We have been glad of yore.
But our gusty emotions say to me that we have / Tasted heaven many times: these delicacies / Are left over from some larger party.
What peaceful hours I once enjoy'd! How sweet their memory still! But they have left an aching void The world can never fill.
One of the uncovenanted benefits of living for a long time is that, having so many more dead than living friends, death can appear as a step backwards into the joyous past.
