Sadness and gladness succeed each other.
Meaning: Life's emotional states naturally alternate, so neither despair nor joy remains permanent.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Make not your sail too large for your ship. — Ambition must match your actual resources, or you'll capsize under the weight of your own…
- Salmon and sermon have their season in Lent. — Both salmon and sermons flourish during Lent because scarcity and spiritual focus make th…
- Catch a bird by putting salt on its tail. — Impossible tasks require absurd methods; chasing what flees demands accepting futility.
- You can't make ropes of sand. — Attempting to bind unstable elements together will fail; fragile foundations cannot suppo…
- What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. — Fair rules must apply equally to both parties, regardless of gender or status.
- Sweet meat must have some sauce. — Desirable things often require effort, cost, or unpleasant accompaniment to obtain them f…
From our idioms
- eat one's hat — To do something unpleasant in the case of being proven wrong.
- eleventh hour — Late or last-minute.
- eternal triangle — A situation in which two men love the same woman or two women love the same man.