--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That each sorrow has its purpose, By the…" description: "\"That each sorrow has its purpose, By the sorrowing oft unguessed, But as sure as the sun brings morning, Whatever is-is best.\" — Ella Wheeler Wilcox" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_grief_that-each-sorrow-has-its-purpose-by-the_2570461.png" --- # That each sorrow has its purpose, By the sorrowing oft… ![“That each sorrow has its purpose, By the sorrowing oft unguessed, But as sure as the sun brings morning, Whatever is-is best.” quote by Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_grief_that-each-sorrow-has-its-purpose-by-the_2570461.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_grief_that-each-sorrow-has-its-purpose-by-the_2570461.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_grief_that-each-sorrow-has-its-purpose-by-the_2570461.png) > “That each sorrow has its purpose, By the sorrowing oft unguessed, But as sure as the sun brings morning, Whatever is-is best.” [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sorrow serves a purpose, leading to renewal like sunrise **In simple terms:** Pain leads to growth and renewal Key Takeaway Recognize sorrow’s role Themes sorrow purpose renewal Mood reflective hopeful Type poetic motivational When to use this quote - therapy - personal growth - creative writing Key Concepts Philosophy spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How can sorrow guide you? - What renewal follows your pain? A Different Perspective May be hard to see purpose immediately ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose Sorrowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-sorrowing-1685388/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Sorrow Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow-purpose-1685389/) [Sorrowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrowing-516442/) [Sorrowing Oft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrowing-oft-1685390/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) ## Related quotes > [Who goes a-borrowing goes a-sorrowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-tusser/who-goes-a-borrowing-goes-a-sorrowing/) [Thomas Tusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-tusser/) > [“Slowly the golden memory of the dead sun fades from the hearts of the cold, sad clouds. Silent, like sorrowing children, the birds have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/slowly-the-golden-memory-of-the-dead-sun-fades-from-the-hearts-of-the-2/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [He who goes are borrowing goes are sorrowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-who-goes-are-borrowing-goes-are-sorrowing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As the world falls, I will keep my head up high because I know at the end of the time, I fall with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-dessert/as-the-world-falls-i-will-keep-my-head-up-high-because-i-know-at-the/) [Christina Dessert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-dessert/) > [If they came sorrowing, and wanting sympathy in a complicated trouble like the present, then they would be felt as a shadow in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/if-they-came-sorrowing-and-wanting-sympathy-in-a-complicated-trouble/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Trouble comes to us all in this life: we set our hearts on things which it isn't God's will for us to have, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/trouble-comes-to-us-all-in-this-life-we-set-our-hearts-on-things/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Who goeth a borrowing. Goeth a sorrowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-tusser/who-goeth-a-borrowing-goeth-a-sorrowing/) [Thomas Tusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-tusser/) > [“One moment, fine enough, sorrowing, but fine, sort of. The next, a big bulge of grief in my throat, so that if I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/one-moment-fine-enough-sorrowing-but-fine-sort-of-the-next-a-big/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [In every sorrowing soul I pour'd delight, And poverty stood smiling in my sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/in-every-sorrowing-soul-i-pour-d-delight-and-poverty-stood-smiling-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“This is a characteristic image from the Bright Young People's world: the thought of sorrowing in sunlight, good times gone, the myriad champagne corks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-j-taylor-2/this-is-a-characteristic-image-from-the-bright-young-people-s-world/) [D.J. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-j-taylor-2/) > [Kim Chinquee writes with remarkable heart and grace. Her wise capsulizings of love's devastations and of life's roil and disappointments come at you with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lutz/kim-chinquee-writes-with-remarkable-heart-and-grace-her-wise/) [Gary Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lutz/) > [He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/he-that-goes-a-borrowing-goes-a-sorrowing/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [See the hand that nursed the serpent. The fine hasped pipes of her fingerbones. The skin bewenned and speckled. The veins are milkblue and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/see-the-hand-that-nursed-the-serpent-the-fine-hasped-pipes-of-her/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [With every rising of the sun Think of your life as just begun. The past has shrived and buried deep All yesterdays— there let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/with-every-rising-of-the-sun-think-of-your-life-as-just-begun-the/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) ## More by Ella Wheeler Wilcox > [A day which passed without a poem from my pen I considered lost and misused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/a-day-which-passed-without-a-poem-from-my-pen-i-considered-lost-and/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Talk health. The dreary, never-changing tale Of mortal maladies is worn and stale. You cannot charm, or interest, or please By harping in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/talk-health-the-dreary-never-changing-tale-of-mortal-maladies-is-worn/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Why dost thou shrink from my approach, O Man? Why dost thou ever flee in fear, and cling To my false rival, Life? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/why-dost-thou-shrink-from-my-approach-o-man-why-dost-thou-ever-flee/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [With every rising of the sun Think of your life as just begun. The past has shrived and buried deep All yesterdays— there let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/with-every-rising-of-the-sun-think-of-your-life-as-just-begun-the/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [“Why, even Death stands still and waits an hour for such a will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/why-even-death-stands-still-and-waits-an-hour-for-such-a-will/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Better to wait and yearn, and still to wait, And die at last with unappeased desire, Than live to be the jest of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/better-to-wait-and-yearn-and-still-to-wait-and-die-at-last-with/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes, and men grow better as the world grows old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/love-lights-more-fires-than-hate-extinguishes-and-men-grow-better-as/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Back on its golden hinges The gate of Memory swings, And my heart goes into the garden And walks with the olden things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/back-on-its-golden-hinges-the-gate-of-memory-swings-and-my-heart-goes/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [I hold it true that thoughts are things Endowed with bodies, breath, and wings, And that we send them forth to fill The world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/i-hold-it-true-that-thoughts-are-things-endowed-with-bodies-breath/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [All perfect things are saddening in effect. The autumn wood robed in its scarlet clothes, The matchless tinting on the royal rose Whose velvet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/all-perfect-things-are-saddening-in-effect-the-autumn-wood-robed-in/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Content is not the pathway to great deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/content-is-not-the-pathway-to-great-deeds/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Don't anticipate the happiness of tomorrow. Discover it today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/don-t-anticipate-the-happiness-of-tomorrow-discover-it-today/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [“And yet I would not be a child again. For surely as the night succeeds the day, So surely will their mirth turn into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/and-yet-i-would-not-be-a-child-again-for-surely-as-the-night-succeeds/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Day's sweetest moments are at dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/day-s-sweetest-moments-are-at-dawn/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Oh! not for the great departed, Who formed our country's laws, And not for the bravest-hearted, Who died in freedom's cause, And not for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/oh-not-for-the-great-departed-who-formed-our-country-s-laws-and-not/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) [Explore all 240 Ella Wheeler Wilcox quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) ## More Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. 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. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. 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 each sorrow has its purpose, By the sorrowing oft unguessed, But as sure as the sun brings morning, Whatever is-is best.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ella Wheeler Wilcox" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/that-each-sorrow-has-its-purpose-by-the-sorrowing-oft-unguessed-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/that-each-sorrow-has-its-purpose-by-the-sorrowing-oft-unguessed-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_grief_that-each-sorrow-has-its-purpose-by-the_2570461.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_grief_that-each-sorrow-has-its-purpose-by-the_2570461.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_grief_that-each-sorrow-has-its-purpose-by-the_2570461.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That each sorrow has its purpose, By the sorrowing oft unguessed, But as sure as the sun brings morning…” — Ella Wheeler Wilcox", "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": "Ella Wheeler Wilcox", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That each sorrow has its purpose,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/that-each-sorrow-has-its-purpose-by-the-sorrowing-oft-unguessed-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/that-each-sorrow-has-its-purpose-by-the-sorrowing-oft-unguessed-but/#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 } } ] } ```