--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: and then, instead of lamenting past…" description: "\"“and then, instead of lamenting past calamities we might all cheerfully set to work to remedy them; and the greater the difficulties, the harder our pr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/emily-bronte-574_cheerfulness_and-then-instead-of-lamenting-past-calam_1714003.jpg" --- # and then, instead of lamenting past calamities we might… ![“and then, instead of lamenting past calamities we might all cheerfully set to work to remedy them; and the greater the difficulties, the harder our present privations, the greater should be our cheerfulness to endure the latter, and our vigour to contend against the former.” quote by Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/emily-bronte-574_cheerfulness_and-then-instead-of-lamenting-past-calam_1714003.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/emily-bronte-574_cheerfulness_and-then-instead-of-lamenting-past-calam_1714003.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/emily-bronte-574_cheerfulness_and-then-instead-of-lamenting-past-calam_1714003.jpg) > ““and then, instead of lamenting past calamities we might all cheerfully set to work to remedy them; and the greater the difficulties, the harder our present privations, the greater should be our cheerfulness to endure the latter, and our vigour to contend against the former.”” [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Enduring hardship with optimism and vigor transforms challenges into opportunities for growth. **In simple terms:** Cheerfully face difficulties to overcome them. Key Takeaway Adopt a positive, active stance toward problems. Themes optimism resilience hardship Mood determined hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal crises - team projects - social reform - health recovery Key Concepts Stoicism psychological endurance Questions to Reflect On - How can optimism be balanced with realistic planning? - What actions accompany cheerful endurance? A Different Perspective Overcoming optimism may not solve systemic issues alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cheerfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerfulness/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Though riches had charms, poverty had no terrors for an inexperienced girl like me. Indeed, to say the truth, there was something exhilarating in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/though-riches-had-charms-poverty-had-no-terrors-for-an-inexperienced/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“Our will to live is often much greater than the difficulties of life!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/our-will-to-live-is-often-much-greater-than-the-difficulties-of-life/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [No matter what, you have to hang in there. The greater the difficulties, the greater the reward. Don't give up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-matter-what-you-have-to-hang-in-there-the-greater-the-difficulties/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Upon the whole, I am inclined to think that the far greater part, if not all, of those difficulties which have hitherto amused philosophers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/upon-the-whole-i-am-inclined-to-think-that-the-far-greater-part-if/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [Persisting through lesser difficulties builds your capacity to persist through greater difficulties, and achieve even greater things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/persisting-through-lesser-difficulties-builds-your-capacity-to/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [God is greater than all your difficulties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa/god-is-greater-than-all-your-difficulties/) [Lisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa/) > [Even the smallest landscape can offer pride of ownership not only to its inhabitants but to its neighbors. The world delights in a garden……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-moir-messervy/even-the-smallest-landscape-can-offer-pride-of-ownership-not-only-to/) Julie Moir Messervy > [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“Unsavoury as it is below, there is cheerfulness, and comfort, and hard, honest work above. ("In The Court Of The Dragon")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-chambers/unsavoury-as-it-is-below-there-is-cheerfulness-and-comfort-and-hard/) [Robert W. Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-chambers/) > [When you drop your unnecessary things, you finally can swoop and fly in vast space. It is so blue, so bright, and so nice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/when-you-drop-your-unnecessary-things-you-finally-can-swoop-and-fly/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [Cheerfulness means a contented spirit, a pure heart, a kind and loving disposition; it means humility and ~ charity, a generous appreciation of others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/cheerfulness-means-a-contented-spirit-a-pure-heart-a-kind-and-loving/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [I have observed that in comedies the best actor plays the droll, while some scrub rogue is made the fine gentleman or hero. Thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/i-have-observed-that-in-comedies-the-best-actor-plays-the-droll-while/) [Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/) > [Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man-yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/mark-how-fleeting-and-paltry-is-the-estate-of-man-yesterday-in-embryo/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Poor David Hume is dying fast, but with more real cheerfulness and good humor and with more real resignation to the necessary course of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/poor-david-hume-is-dying-fast-but-with-more-real-cheerfulness-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) ## More by Emily Brontë > [Honest people don't hide their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/honest-people-don-t-hide-their-deeds/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [He is more myself than I am. Whatever our two souls are made of, his and mine are the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/he-is-more-myself-than-i-am-whatever-our-two-souls-are-made-of-his/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I shall smile when wreaths of snow Blossom where the rose should grow; I shall sing when night's decay Ushers in a drearier day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-shall-smile-when-wreaths-of-snow-blossom-where-the-rose-should-grow/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [how cruel, your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/how-cruel-your-veins-are-full-of-ice-water-and-mine-are-boiling/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will changeit,I'mwellaware, aswinterchangesthetrees. My Love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneatha…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/my-love-for-linton-is-like-the-foliage-in-the-woods-time-will/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free; and laughing at injuries, not maddening under them! Why am I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-wish-i-were-a-girl-again-half-savage-and-hardy-and-free-and/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [The entire world is a collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-entire-world-is-a-collection-of-memoranda-that-she-did-exist-and/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“Papa talks enough of my defects, and shows enough scorn of me, to make it natural I should doubt myself. I doubt whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/papa-talks-enough-of-my-defects-and-shows-enough-scorn-of-me-to-make/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“Mama never told me I had a father.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/mama-never-told-me-i-had-a-father/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [The intense horror of nightmare came over me: I tried to draw back my arm, but the hand clung to it, and a most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-intense-horror-of-nightmare-came-over-me-i-tried-to-draw-back-my/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“It is not in him to be loved like me: how can she love in him what he has not?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/it-is-not-in-him-to-be-loved-like-me-how-can-she-love-in-him-what-he/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I have lost the faculty of enjoying their destruction, and I am too idle to destroy for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-have-lost-the-faculty-of-enjoying-their-destruction-and-i-am-too/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/my-love-for-heathcliff-resembles-the-eternal-rocks-beneath-a-source/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [Tis moonlight, summer moonlight, All soft and still and fair; The solemn hour of midnight Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere, But most where trees are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/tis-moonlight-summer-moonlight-all-soft-and-still-and-fair-the-solemn/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“It expressed, plainer than words could do, the intense anguish at having made himself the instrument of thwarting his own revenge. Had it been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/it-expressed-plainer-than-words-could-do-the-intense-anguish-at/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) [Explore all 400 Emily Brontë quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) ## More Cheerfulness quotes > [Poor David Hume is dying fast, but with more real cheerfulness and good humor and with more real resignation to the necessary course of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/poor-david-hume-is-dying-fast-but-with-more-real-cheerfulness-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [When you drop your unnecessary things, you finally can swoop and fly in vast space. It is so blue, so bright, and so nice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/when-you-drop-your-unnecessary-things-you-finally-can-swoop-and-fly/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man-yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/mark-how-fleeting-and-paltry-is-the-estate-of-man-yesterday-in-embryo/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Even the smallest landscape can offer pride of ownership not only to its inhabitants but to its neighbors. The world delights in a garden……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-moir-messervy/even-the-smallest-landscape-can-offer-pride-of-ownership-not-only-to/) Julie Moir Messervy > [Cheerfulness means a contented spirit, a pure heart, a kind and loving disposition; it means humility and ~ charity, a generous appreciation of others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/cheerfulness-means-a-contented-spirit-a-pure-heart-a-kind-and-loving/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [I have observed that in comedies the best actor plays the droll, while some scrub rogue is made the fine gentleman or hero. Thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/i-have-observed-that-in-comedies-the-best-actor-plays-the-droll-while/) [Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/) > [I believe that God will help us to forget things, the memory of which would do us harm, or rather that He will enable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/i-believe-that-god-will-help-us-to-forget-things-the-memory-of-which/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [“Unsavoury as it is below, there is cheerfulness, and comfort, and hard, honest work above. ("In The Court Of The Dragon")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-chambers/unsavoury-as-it-is-below-there-is-cheerfulness-and-comfort-and-hard/) [Robert W. Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-chambers/) > [“Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/cheerfulness-keeps-up-a-kind-of-daylight-in-the-mind-and-fills-it/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“One world is aware and by far the largest to me, and that is myself, / And whether I come to my own to-day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/one-world-is-aware-and-by-far-the-largest-to-me-and-that-is-myself/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Actions seems to follow feeling, but really actions and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/actions-seems-to-follow-feeling-but-really-actions-and-feeling-go/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Cheerfulness and contentment are great beautifiers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-e-smith/cheerfulness-and-contentment-are-great-beautifiers/) [Jennifer E. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-e-smith/) > [Health is the condition of wisdom, and the sign is cheerfulness, - an open and noble temper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/health-is-the-condition-of-wisdom-and-the-sign-is-cheerfulness-an/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Browse all 346 Cheerfulness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerfulness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“and then, instead of lamenting past calamities we might all cheerfully set to work to remedy them; and the greater the difficulties, the harder our present privations, the greater should be our cheerfulness to endure the latter, and our vigour to contend against the former.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Brontë" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/and-then-instead-of-lamenting-past-calamities-we-might-all-cheerfully/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cheerfulness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/and-then-instead-of-lamenting-past-calamities-we-might-all-cheerfully/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/emily-bronte-574_cheerfulness_and-then-instead-of-lamenting-past-calam_1714003.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/emily-bronte-574_cheerfulness_and-then-instead-of-lamenting-past-calam_1714003.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/emily-bronte-574_cheerfulness_and-then-instead-of-lamenting-past-calam_1714003.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“and then, instead of lamenting past calamities we might all cheerfully set to work to remedy them; and the…” — Emily Brontë", "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": "Emily Brontë", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“and then, instead of lamenting past...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/and-then-instead-of-lamenting-past-calamities-we-might-all-cheerfully/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/and-then-instead-of-lamenting-past-calamities-we-might-all-cheerfully/#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 } } ] } ```