--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Happiness is the shadow of things past…" description: "\"Happiness is the shadow of things past, Wich fools still take for that which is to be!\" — Francis Thompson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/francis-thompson-19986_fools_happiness-is-the-shadow-of-things-past-w_631443.jpg" --- # Happiness is the shadow of things past, Wich fools still… ![“Happiness is the shadow of things past, Wich fools still take for that which is to be!” quote by Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/francis-thompson-19986_fools_happiness-is-the-shadow-of-things-past-w_631443.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/francis-thompson-19986_fools_happiness-is-the-shadow-of-things-past-w_631443.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/francis-thompson-19986_fools_happiness-is-the-shadow-of-things-past-w_631443.jpg) > “Happiness is the shadow of things past, Wich fools still take for that which is to be!” [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem suggests happiness is a fleeting echo of past events, and foolish people cling to it as if it were something tangible. **In simple terms:** Happiness is a fleeting memory of the past. Key Takeaway Recognize happiness as transient. Themes philosophy memory illusion Mood melancholic contemplative Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - grief counseling - creative writing - mindfulness practice Key Concepts ephemerality desire human condition Questions to Reflect On - How do you let go of past joys? - What anchors you in the present? A Different Perspective Clinging to past happiness can hinder present growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Things past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-past/) ## Related quotes > [Your my breeze when I'm hot Your my sun when I'm cold Your my warmth when I'm down Your my smile behind my happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iriweepu-x/your-my-breeze-when-i-m-hot-your-my-sun-when-i-m-cold-your-my-warmth/) IRiweepu X > [Happiness is a shadow of harmony; it follows harmony. There is no other way to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/happiness-is-a-shadow-of-harmony-it-follows-harmony-there-is-no-other/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“Happiness is a shadow.If you chase it,it moves further away.But if you turn to make others happy,it will follow you.Make other Happy and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/happiness-is-a-shadow-if-you-chase-it-it-moves-further-away-but-if/) RVM > [Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/remembrance-of-things-past-is-not-necessarily-the-remembrance-of/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I'm constantly being inspired by the old days and taking things from the past and allowing them to lift me up where I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-june/i-m-constantly-being-inspired-by-the-old-days-and-taking-things-from/) [Valerie June](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-june/) > [Blaming things on the past does not make them better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/blaming-things-on-the-past-does-not-make-them-better/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“And there are certain moments in your life when something becomes clear, and other things in the past - things that your mind, unbeknownst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-asher/and-there-are-certain-moments-in-your-life-when-something-becomes/) [Bridget Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-asher/) > [Theres no much to life than that of which everything have it limited time, such things at last will surely become such things in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaze-olamiday/theres-no-much-to-life-than-that-of-which-everything-have-it-limited/) [Blaze Olamiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaze-olamiday/) > [The past is the past, but truth is, some things in the past stay with you forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknowns/the-past-is-the-past-but-truth-is-some-things-in-the-past-stay-with/) Unknowns > [Usually when I sat down to draw a cartoon, it would be more of a reflection of things in my past. Or it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-larson/usually-when-i-sat-down-to-draw-a-cartoon-it-would-be-more-of-a/) [Gary Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-larson/) > [It is strange to talk of miracles, revelations, inspiration, and the like, as things past, while love remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-strange-to-talk-of-miracles-revelations-inspiration-and-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“I didn’t want these wretched things to be in my past. But they were; nothing was going to change that fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keary-taylor/i-didn-t-want-these-wretched-things-to-be-in-my-past-but-they-were/) [Keary Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keary-taylor/) > [You can't figure out what to do in the future by looking at how you did things in the past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-lewin/you-can-t-figure-out-what-to-do-in-the-future-by-looking-at-how-you/) [Roger Lewin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-lewin/) > [You're human; you make mistakes. You have to put all the things in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-sandoval/you-re-human-you-make-mistakes-you-have-to-put-all-the-things-in-the/) [Pablo Sandoval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-sandoval/) > [I realized that there are just certain things in life that are private. I have things in my past - like everyone - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-osmond/i-realized-that-there-are-just-certain-things-in-life-that-are/) [Ken Osmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-osmond/) ## More by Francis Thompson > [Babies breathe a lot more rapidly than adults do, and what's more, they're also growing quickly and so they're absorbing lots more into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/babies-breathe-a-lot-more-rapidly-than-adults-do-and-what-s-more-they/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [And left the flushed print in a poppy there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/and-left-the-flushed-print-in-a-poppy-there/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [Look for me in the nurseries of Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/look-for-me-in-the-nurseries-of-heaven/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [“The fairest things have fleetest end, Their scent survives their close: But the rose's scent is bitterness To her who loved the rose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/the-fairest-things-have-fleetest-end-their-scent-survives-their-close-2/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [“Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee Save Me, save only Me? All which I took from thee I did but take, Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/whom-wilt-thou-find-to-love-ignoble-thee-save-me-save-only-me-all/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [“ A Corymbus for Autumn How are the veins of thee, Autumn, laden? Umbered juices, And pulpèd oozes Pappy out of the cherry-bruises, Froth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/a-corymbus-for-autumn-how-are-the-veins-of-thee-autumn-laden-umbered/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [But lilies, stolen from grassy mold, No more curled state unfold, Translated to a vase of gold; In burning throne though they keep still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/but-lilies-stolen-from-grassy-mold-no-more-curled-state-unfold/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [An atheist is a man who believes himself an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/an-atheist-is-a-man-who-believes-himself-an-accident/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [Oh invisible, we view thee, O world intangible, we touch thee, o world unknowable, we know thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/oh-invisible-we-view-thee-o-world-intangible-we-touch-thee-o-world/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [“I fled Him down the nights and down the days I fled Him down the arches of the years I fled Him down the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/i-fled-him-down-the-nights-and-down-the-days-i-fled-him-down-the/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [The devil doesn't know how to sing, only how to howl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/the-devil-doesn-t-know-how-to-sing-only-how-to-howl/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [Agnosticism is the everlasting perhaps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/agnosticism-is-the-everlasting-perhaps/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [Baby smiled, mother wailed, Earthward while the sweetling sailed; Mother smiled, baby wailed, When to earth came Viola.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/baby-smiled-mother-wailed-earthward-while-the-sweetling-sailed-mother/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [In all change, well looked into, the germinal good out-veils the apparent ill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/in-all-change-well-looked-into-the-germinal-good-out-veils-the/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [Nothing begins, and nothing ends, That is not paid with moan; For we are born in others pain And perish in our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/nothing-begins-and-nothing-ends-that-is-not-paid-with-moan-for-we-are/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) [Explore all 31 Francis Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) ## More Fools quotes > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The majority is never right. Never, I tell you! That's one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/the-majority-is-never-right-never-i-tell-you-that-s-one-of-these-lies/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [“What would have been the fate of sages if there were no fools?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/what-would-have-been-the-fate-of-sages-if-there-were-no-fools/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [“Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverbs-16-22-bible-kjv/understanding-is-a-wellspring-of-life-unto-him-that-hath-it-but-the/) Proverbs 16:22 Bible KJV > [“stultorum infnitus est numerus (the number of fools is infinite)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ecclesiastes/stultorum-infnitus-est-numerus-the-number-of-fools-is-infinite/) [Ecclesiastes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ecclesiastes/) > [Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/fools-learn-from-experience-i-prefer-to-learn-from-the-experience-of/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [The wise are wise only because they love. The fool are fools only because they think they can understand love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-wise-are-wise-only-because-they-love-the-fool-are-fools-only/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The magi, as you know, were wise men — wonderfully wise men — who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-magi-as-you-know-were-wise-men-wonderfully-wise-men-who-brought/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“that's what i mean about cats. they're always trying to make fools of us humans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-jackson-braun/that-s-what-i-mean-about-cats-they-re-always-trying-to-make-fools-of/) [Lilian Jackson Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-jackson-braun/) > [“I wish one half the world were not fools, and the other half idiots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-fern/i-wish-one-half-the-world-were-not-fools-and-the-other-half-idiots/) [Fanny Fern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-fern/) > [“What name do you use then, for two people who help each other?” “Why are they helping each other?” “Simply to be kind, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-manning/what-name-do-you-use-then-for-two-people-who-help-each-other-why-are/) [Michael G. Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-manning/) > [“The world is not fair, and often fools, cowards, liars and the selfish hide in high places. (p 57)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/the-world-is-not-fair-and-often-fools-cowards-liars-and-the-selfish/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [Today is April Fools Day. Believe nothing, and trust no one...So it's like any other day. Right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-is-april-fools-day-believe-nothing-and-trust-no-one-so-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,204 Fools quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Happiness is the shadow of things past, Wich fools still take for that which is to be!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Thompson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/happiness-is-the-shadow-of-things-past-wich-fools-still-take-for-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fools" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/happiness-is-the-shadow-of-things-past-wich-fools-still-take-for-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/francis-thompson-19986_fools_happiness-is-the-shadow-of-things-past-w_631443.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/francis-thompson-19986_fools_happiness-is-the-shadow-of-things-past-w_631443.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/francis-thompson-19986_fools_happiness-is-the-shadow-of-things-past-w_631443.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Happiness is the shadow of things past, Wich fools still take for that which is to be!” — Francis Thompson", "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": "Francis Thompson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Happiness is the shadow of things...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/happiness-is-the-shadow-of-things-past-wich-fools-still-take-for-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/happiness-is-the-shadow-of-things-past-wich-fools-still-take-for-that/#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 } } ] } ```