--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We flatter those we scarcely know, We…" description: "\"We flatter those we scarcely know, We please the fleeting guest; And deal full many a thoughtless blow, To those who love us best. Laugh, and the world..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_apparel_we-flatter-those-we-scarcely-know-we-ple_1163736.jpg" --- # We flatter those we scarcely know, We please the fleeting… ![“We flatter those we scarcely know, We please the fleeting guest; And deal full many a thoughtless blow, To those who love us best. Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own. There is new strength…” quote by Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_apparel_we-flatter-those-we-scarcely-know-we-ple_1163736.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_apparel_we-flatter-those-we-scarcely-know-we-ple_1163736.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_apparel_we-flatter-those-we-scarcely-know-we-ple_1163736.jpg) > “We flatter those we scarcely know, We please the fleeting guest; And deal full many a thoughtless blow, To those who love us best. Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own. There is new strength, repose of mind, and inspiration in fresh apparel.” [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. She contrasts public joy with private sorrow, urging resilience and renewal. **In simple terms:** Public laughter vs. private tears; seek strength. Key Takeaway Find inner strength and renew yourself. Themes resilience empathy loneliness renewal Mood melancholic hopeful Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - personal loss - community support Key Concepts emotional cycles social masks Questions to Reflect On - How do you support others in sorrow? - What rituals renew your spirit? A Different Perspective Public joy can mask inner pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apparel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apparel/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mirth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirth/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Laugh, and the world laughs with you: Weep, and you weep alone. For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/laugh-and-the-world-laughs-with-you-weep-and-you-weep-alone-for-the-2/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [“LAUGH, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone. For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-logreco/laugh-and-the-world-laughs-with-you-weep-and-you-weep-alone-for-the/) Bruno LoGreco > [Laugh and the world laughs with you, Weep, and you weep alone; For this brave old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/laugh-and-the-world-laughs-with-you-weep-and-you-weep-alone-for-this/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [“laugh and the world laughs with you. weep and weep alone”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/laugh-and-the-world-laughs-with-you-weep-and-weep-alone/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [“Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chan-wook-park/laugh-and-the-world-laughs-with-you-weep-and-you-weep-alone/) Chan-wook Park > [Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Weep, an' it keeps on laughin'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/laugh-and-the-world-laughs-with-you-weep-an-it-keeps-on-laughin/) [Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/) > [“And why does man weep when he is sad? I asked at last—Because the glass in the eyes must be washed now and then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/and-why-does-man-weep-when-he-is-sad-i-asked-at-last-because-the/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Laugh till you weep. Weep till there's nothing left but to laugh at your weeping. In the end it's all one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/laugh-till-you-weep-weep-till-there-s-nothing-left-but-to-laugh-at/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [“How Adewen stuffed her braid in her mouth at that! Or she'd cover her mirth with her hands and shake till you'd think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/how-adewen-stuffed-her-braid-in-her-mouth-at-that-or-she-d-cover-her/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [When my mother died I was very young, And my father sold me while yet my tongue Could scarcely cry weep weep weep weep.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/when-my-mother-died-i-was-very-young-and-my-father-sold-me-while-yet/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [I stand amid the roar Of a surf-tormented shore, And I hold within my hand Grains of golden sand- How few! yet how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-stand-amid-the-roar-of-a-surf-tormented-shore-and-i-hold-within-my/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We must never minimize the suffering of another. Scripture's mandate to us is, "Weep with them that weep." (Romans 12:15, KJV)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/we-must-never-minimize-the-suffering-of-another-scripture-s-mandate/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [And weep the more, because I weep in vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gray/and-weep-the-more-because-i-weep-in-vain/) [Thomas Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gray/) > [I laugh until I weep And weep until I smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-laugh-until-i-weep-and-weep-until-i-smile/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I first start with weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice, be sympathetic, show tenderness and brotherly kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/i-first-start-with-weep-with-those-who-weep-rejoice-with-those-who/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) ## 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 Apparel quotes > [The law is like apparel, which alters with the time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dodderidge/the-law-is-like-apparel-which-alters-with-the-time/) John Dodderidge > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [“Take care of your costume and your confidence will take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/take-care-of-your-costume-and-your-confidence-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Rich apparel has strange virtues; it makes him that hath it without means esteemed for an excellent wit; he that enjoys it with means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/rich-apparel-has-strange-virtues-it-makes-him-that-hath-it-without/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Every true man's apparel fits your thief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/every-true-man-s-apparel-fits-your-thief/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [To close the eyes, and give a seemly comfort to the apparel of the dead, is poverty's holiest touch of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/to-close-the-eyes-and-give-a-seemly-comfort-to-the-apparel-of-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Slave camps under the flag of freedom, massacres justified by philanthropy or the taste of the superhuman, cripple judgment. On the day when crime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/slave-camps-under-the-flag-of-freedom-massacres-justified-by/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I do California casual a little bit better than really small European cut, tight apparel But I can rock some Gucci when I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-daly/i-do-california-casual-a-little-bit-better-than-really-small-european/) [Carson Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-daly/) > [I'm the kind of person that when I saw a lack of African Americans in the apparel business, that was something I set out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daymond-john/i-m-the-kind-of-person-that-when-i-saw-a-lack-of-african-americans-in/) [Daymond John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daymond-john/) > [There is new strength, repose of mind, and inspiration in fresh apparel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-new-strength-repose-of-mind-and-inspiration-in-fresh-apparel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The main one is that these apparel jobs are a very important means for young women in these countries to gain autonomy. The other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietra-rivoli/the-main-one-is-that-these-apparel-jobs-are-a-very-important-means/) [Pietra Rivoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietra-rivoli/) > [Most designers want to show apparel that makes the wearer look as long and lean as possible. And most people who buy clothes want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/most-designers-want-to-show-apparel-that-makes-the-wearer-look-as/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [Gay and costly apparel directly tends to create and influence lust… The fact is plain and undeniable, it has the effect both on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/gay-and-costly-apparel-directly-tends-to-create-and-influence-lust/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [“The way you dress is how you greet the sun and other stars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/the-way-you-dress-is-how-you-greet-the-sun-and-other-stars/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [I spend a lot of time in American Apparel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-electra/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-in-american-apparel/) [Carmen Electra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-electra/) [Browse all 123 Apparel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apparel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We flatter those we scarcely know, We please the fleeting guest; And deal full many a thoughtless blow, To those who love us best. 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