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Tho’ much is taken, much abides.
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“Tho’ much is taken, much abides.”

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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Source
Ulysses (poem)
Date
1842
Meaning

Meaning of “Tho’ much is taken, much abides.”

Loss and limitation are acknowledged without allowing them to erase what remains possible or valuable.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Ulysses, near the close of the poem.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

Acceptance Quotes About Reality, Limits & ChangeFailureGratitudeHappinessHope Quotes About Possibility in Uncertain TimesInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityJoyLetting Go Quotes About Release & Moving ForwardMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistenceMoving OnNever Give UpPatiencePerseverance Quotes About Sustained EffortPositive Quotes About a Constructive OutlookPresent MomentSelf-WorthShortTimeLife Goes On
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Have this thought ever present with thee, when thou losest any outward thing, what thou gainest in its stead.
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“Have this thought ever present with thee, when thou losest any outward thing, what thou gainest in its stead.”

Epictetus · The Golden Sayings of Epictetus · c. 125
Meaning & context

Loss is not automatically the whole story; the instruction asks what freedom, clarity, experience, or other value may accompany what has been given up.

Source details

The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, saying XXVII, Hastings Crossley translation.

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If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
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“If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”

Percy Bysshe Shelley · Ode to the West Wind · 1820
Meaning & context

The seasonal image turns hardship into a temporary phase: decline can contain the possibility of renewal even when that renewal is not yet visible.

Source details

Final line of Ode to the West Wind; the changing seasons become a metaphor for historical and personal renewal.

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It is not a lost year, but one that may prove the most helpful of any you ever know.
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“It is not a lost year, but one that may prove the most helpful of any you ever know.”

Louisa May Alcott · Jo's Boys · 1886
Voice: Fictional character · Jo Bhaer
Meaning & context

A painful or disappointing period can still become useful experience when it changes judgment, humility, resolve, and the way a person begins again.

Source details

Jo's Boys; the reassurance follows a setback and reframes a difficult year as experience that may later prove unusually helpful rather than simply wasted time.

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