--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That sorrow which is the harbinger of joy…" description: "\"That sorrow which is the harbinger of joy is preferable to the joy which is followed by sorrow.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/anonymous-1_grief_that-sorrow-which-is-the-harbinger-of-jo_1568670.jpg" --- # That sorrow which is the harbinger of joy is preferable to… ![“That sorrow which is the harbinger of joy is preferable to the joy which is followed by sorrow.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/anonymous-1_grief_that-sorrow-which-is-the-harbinger-of-jo_1568670.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/anonymous-1_grief_that-sorrow-which-is-the-harbinger-of-jo_1568670.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/anonymous-1_grief_that-sorrow-which-is-the-harbinger-of-jo_1568670.jpg) > “That sorrow which is the harbinger of joy is preferable to the joy which is followed by sorrow.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Joy that follows sorrow is less desirable than sorrow that heralds joy, suggesting anticipation of happiness is preferable. **In simple terms:** Preferring sorrow that leads to joy. Key Takeaway Value hopeful anticipation over fleeting happiness. Themes joy sorrow anticipation Mood melancholic hopeful Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - mental health therapy - life coaching - literary analysis Key Concepts emotional cycles philosophical outlook psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why is anticipation valued over immediate joy? - How does this perspective affect coping with loss? A Different Perspective May ignore the value of present joy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Harbinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harbinger/) [Harbinger Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harbinger-joy-5900437/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Joy Preferable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-preferable-5900435/) [Preferable Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preferable-joy-5900434/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Sorrow Harbinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow-harbinger-5900436/) ## Related quotes > [The propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-propitious-smiles-of-heaven-can-never-be-expected-on-a-nation/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [No festival of martial glory or warrior's renown is this; no pageant pomp of war-like conquest, no glory of fratricidal strife attend this day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-mcguire/no-festival-of-martial-glory-or-warrior-s-renown-is-this-no-pageant/) [Peter J. 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This is why the harbingers of violent conflict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-main-achievement-of-economics-is-that-it-has-provided-a-theory-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [What counts alone is the innovator, the dissenter, the harbinger of things unheard of, the man who rejects the traditional standards and aims at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/what-counts-alone-is-the-innovator-the-dissenter-the-harbinger-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [The other me, who did not mean to drown herself, went under the sea and remained there for a long time. Eventually she surfaced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/the-other-me-who-did-not-mean-to-drown-herself-went-under-the-sea-and/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. 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I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. 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Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. 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The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That sorrow which is the harbinger of joy is preferable to the joy which is followed by sorrow.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-sorrow-which-is-the-harbinger-of-joy-is-preferable-to-the-joy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-sorrow-which-is-the-harbinger-of-joy-is-preferable-to-the-joy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/anonymous-1_grief_that-sorrow-which-is-the-harbinger-of-jo_1568670.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/anonymous-1_grief_that-sorrow-which-is-the-harbinger-of-jo_1568670.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/anonymous-1_grief_that-sorrow-which-is-the-harbinger-of-jo_1568670.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That sorrow which is the harbinger of joy is preferable to the joy which is followed by sorrow.” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That sorrow which is the harbinger...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-sorrow-which-is-the-harbinger-of-joy-is-preferable-to-the-joy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-sorrow-which-is-the-harbinger-of-joy-is-preferable-to-the-joy/#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 } } ] } ```