--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Had it lived long, is would have been…" description: "\"Had it lived long, is would have been Lilies without, roses within.\" — Andrew Marvell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/andrew-marvell-11672_flower_had-it-lived-long-is-would-have-been-lil_917673.png" --- # Had it lived long, is would have been Lilies without… ![“Had it lived long, is would have been Lilies without, roses within.” quote by Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/andrew-marvell-11672_flower_had-it-lived-long-is-would-have-been-lil_917673.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/andrew-marvell-11672_flower_had-it-lived-long-is-would-have-been-lil_917673.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/andrew-marvell-11672_flower_had-it-lived-long-is-would-have-been-lil_917673.png) > “Had it lived long, is would have been Lilies without, roses within.” [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If something endures, it lacks the contrast that makes it beautiful; without contrast, it loses its distinctiveness. **In simple terms:** Endurance without contrast loses beauty. Key Takeaway Seek balance between longevity and variety. Themes beauty contrast impermanence Mood reflective melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - gardening - relationships - career longevity - artistic creation Key Concepts aesthetics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you appreciate fleeting moments? - When is permanence valuable? A Different Perspective Too much change can cause instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Lilies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lilies/) [Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rose/) [Roses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roses/) ## Related quotes > [I have a garden of my own, But so with roses overgrown, And lilies, that you would it guess To be a little wilderness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/i-have-a-garden-of-my-own-but-so-with-roses-overgrown-and-lilies-that/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [Soon the purple dark must bruise Lily and bleeding-heart and rose, And the little Cupid lose Eyes and ears and chin and nose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-justice/soon-the-purple-dark-must-bruise-lily-and-bleeding-heart-and-rose-and/) [Donald Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-justice/) > [As a human being it is just my nature to enjoy and share philosophy. I do this in the same way that some birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/as-a-human-being-it-is-just-my-nature-to-enjoy-and-share-philosophy-i/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,The humble sheep a threat'ning horn:While the Lily white shall in love delight,Nor a thorn nor a threat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-modest-rose-puts-forth-a-thorn-the-humble-sheep-a-threat-ning/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [I see a lily on thy brow, With anguish moist and fever dew; And on thy cheek a fading rose Fast withereth too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/i-see-a-lily-on-thy-brow-with-anguish-moist-and-fever-dew-and-on-thy/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Yet nor the lays of birds nor the sweet smell Of different flowers in odour and in hue Could make me any summer's story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yet-nor-the-lays-of-birds-nor-the-sweet-smell-of-different-flowers-in/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Of all trees, I observe God hath chosen the vine, a low plant that creeps upon the helpful wall; of all beasts, the soft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/of-all-trees-i-observe-god-hath-chosen-the-vine-a-low-plant-that/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [A lily or a rose never pretends, and its beauty is that it is what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-lily-or-a-rose-never-pretends-and-its-beauty-is-that-it-is-what-it/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [But thou art fair, and at thy birth, dear boy, Nature and Fortune join'd to make thee great: Of Nature's gifts thou mayst with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-thou-art-fair-and-at-thy-birth-dear-boy-nature-and-fortune-join-d/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Our cheer goes back to them, the valiant dead! Laurels and roses on their graves to-day, lilies and laurels over them we lay, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hovey/our-cheer-goes-back-to-them-the-valiant-dead-laurels-and-roses-on/) [Richard Hovey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hovey/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The flower-girl's prayer to buy roses and pinks, held out in the smoke, like stars by day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-flower-girl-s-prayer-to-buy-roses-and-pinks-held-out-in-the-smoke/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [But buds will be roses, and kittens, cats - more's the pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/but-buds-will-be-roses-and-kittens-cats-more-s-the-pity/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [It's there. The white rose among the dried flowers in the vase. Shriveled and fragile, but holding on to that unnatural perfection cultivated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-there-the-white-rose-among-the-dried-flowers-in-the-vase/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [The monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-monstrous-thing-is-not-that-men-have-created-roses-out-of-this/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## More by Andrew Marvell > [My love is of a birth as rare As 'tis, for object, strange and high; It was begotten by Despair Upon Impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/my-love-is-of-a-birth-as-rare-as-tis-for-object-strange-and-high-it/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [“But at my back I always hear Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near; And yonder all before us lie Deserts of vast eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/but-at-my-back-i-always-hear-time-s-wing-d-chariot-hurrying-near-and/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [What wondrous life is this I lead! Ripe apples drop about my head; The luscious clusters of the vine Upon my mouth do crush…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/what-wondrous-life-is-this-i-lead-ripe-apples-drop-about-my-head-the/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [Gather the flowers, but spare the buds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/gather-the-flowers-but-spare-the-buds/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [No white nor red was ever seen So am'rous as this lovely green. Fond lovers, cruel as their flame, Cut in these trees their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/no-white-nor-red-was-ever-seen-so-am-rous-as-this-lovely-green-fond/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [The mind, that ocean where each kind Does straight its own resemblance find; Yet it creates, transcending these, Far other worlds, and other seas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/the-mind-that-ocean-where-each-kind-does-straight-its-own-resemblance/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [“Now therefore, while the youthful hue Sits on thy skin like morning dew, And while thy willing soul transpires At every pore with instant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/now-therefore-while-the-youthful-hue-sits-on-thy-skin-like-morning/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [“What wondrous life in this I lead Ripe apples drop about my head”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/what-wondrous-life-in-this-i-lead-ripe-apples-drop-about-my-head/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [Meanwhile the mind, from pleasure less, Withdraws into its happiness; The mind, that ocean where each kind Does straight its own resemblance find; Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/meanwhile-the-mind-from-pleasure-less-withdraws-into-its-happiness/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [What wondrous life is this I lead! Ripe apples drop about my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/what-wondrous-life-is-this-i-lead-ripe-apples-drop-about-my-head/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [How vainly men themselves amaze, / To win the palm, the oak, or bays; / And their incessant labours see / Crowned from some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/how-vainly-men-themselves-amaze-to-win-the-palm-the-oak-or-bays-and/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [And now, when I have summed up all my store, Thinking (so I myself deceive) So rich a chaplet thence to weave As never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/and-now-when-i-have-summed-up-all-my-store-thinking-so-i-myself/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [Therefore the love which us doth bind, But fate so enviously debars, Is the conjunction of the mind, And opposition of the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/therefore-the-love-which-us-doth-bind-but-fate-so-enviously-debars-is/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [The world in all doth but two nations bear- The good, the bad; and these mixed everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/the-world-in-all-doth-but-two-nations-bear-the-good-the-bad-and-these/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [Though I carry always some ill-nature about me, yet it is, I hope, no more than is in this world necessary for a preservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/though-i-carry-always-some-ill-nature-about-me-yet-it-is-i-hope-no/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) [Explore all 58 Andrew Marvell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) ## More Flower quotes > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most girls get flowers or candy. I get a declaration of martial law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shearin/most-girls-get-flowers-or-candy-i-get-a-declaration-of-martial-law/) [Lisa Shearin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shearin/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/spring-training-means-flowers-people-coming-outdoors-sunshine/) [Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/) > [Sometimes, sometimes it is really difficult to turn and walk away from someone you have loved and cherished for so long. You know deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/sometimes-sometimes-it-is-really-difficult-to-turn-and-walk-away-from/) [David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [My life is a crystal teardrop. There are snowflakes falling in the teardrop and little figures trudging in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/my-life-is-a-crystal-teardrop-there-are-snowflakes-falling-in-the/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [“But any picture could deal with the problem of light. The problem with this picture is greater than that of reflective surfaces - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/but-any-picture-could-deal-with-the-problem-of-light-the-problem-with/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) [Browse all 12,347 Flower quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Had it lived long, is would have been Lilies without, roses within.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrew Marvell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/had-it-lived-long-is-would-have-been-lilies-without-roses-within/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flower" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/had-it-lived-long-is-would-have-been-lilies-without-roses-within/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/andrew-marvell-11672_flower_had-it-lived-long-is-would-have-been-lil_917673.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/andrew-marvell-11672_flower_had-it-lived-long-is-would-have-been-lil_917673.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/andrew-marvell-11672_flower_had-it-lived-long-is-would-have-been-lil_917673.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Had it lived long, is would have been Lilies without, roses within.” — Andrew Marvell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andrew Marvell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Had it lived long, is would...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/had-it-lived-long-is-would-have-been-lilies-without-roses-within/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/had-it-lived-long-is-would-have-been-lilies-without-roses-within/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```