quote · Legacy record
Were it not sadder, in the years to come, To feel the hand-clasp slacken for long use, The untuned heart-strings for long stress refuse To yield old harmonies, the songs grow dumb For weariness, and all the old spells lose The first enchantment? Yet this they must be: Love is but mortal, save in memory.
Were it not sadder, in the years to come, To feel the hand-clasp slacken for long use, The untuned heart-strings for long stress refuse To yield old harmonies, the songs grow dumb For weariness, and all the old spells lose The first enchantment? Yet this they must be: Love is but mortal, save in memory.
In print by 1921 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- John Payne (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1921 AD · modern
In print by 1921: recorded in My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921) (1921 AD)
Page 162 · printed citation: John Payne (A Farewell). · compiler notes excluded
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.