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Upon the wreckage of thy yesterday design the structure of to-morrow.
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“Upon the wreckage of thy yesterday design the structure of to-morrow.”

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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Source
Poems of Progress and New Thought Pastels
Date
1913
Meaning

Meaning of “Upon the wreckage of thy yesterday design the…”

Past failure is treated as material for reconstruction rather than a final verdict, making tomorrow a project that can be designed from what has already been learned.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Poems of Progress and New Thought Pastels, “The Structure”; Project Gutenberg #3228. The following lines emphasize purpose, wisdom, resolve and patience, which anchors the rebuilding metaphor.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

FailureGoalsHope Quotes About Possibility in Uncertain TimesLetting Go Quotes About Release & Moving ForwardMoving OnNever Give UpOptimism Quotes About Constructive ExpectationPositive Quotes About a Constructive OutlookPurpose Quotes About Direction, Duty & Meaningful WorkResilience Quotes About Recovery & AdaptationShortStrengthFutureLife Goes OnPast
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If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
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“If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”

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

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You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.
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“You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.”

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A failed plan need not govern the remainder of the day; Bennett frames each hour as another practical opportunity to restart deliberate action.

Source details

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’Tis the set of the soul that decides its goal and not the calm or the strife.
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“’Tis the set of the soul that decides its goal and not the calm or the strife.”

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Meaning & context

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Source details

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What then remains but well our pow'r to use, And keep good-humour still whate'er we lose?
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“What then remains but well our pow'r to use, And keep good-humour still whate'er we lose?”

Alexander Pope · The Rape of the Lock · 1717
Voice: Fictional character · Clarissa
Meaning & context

Within Clarissa’s speech, the practical response to inevitable loss is to use one’s capacities well and preserve composure rather than trying to make change impossible.

Source details

The Rape of the Lock, Canto V, lines 29–30 in Pope’s 1717 revision; spoken by Clarissa. Her speech was added in 1717, so the inherited 1714 source year is corrected to 1717. Clarissa’s counsel is immediately followed by the poem’s return to comic battle, preserving the satirical frame.

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What, to our eyes, may seem hopeless failure is often but the dawning of a greater success.
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“What, to our eyes, may seem hopeless failure is often but the dawning of a greater success.”

William George Jordan · The Majesty of Calmness · 1900
Meaning & context

Immediate appearances can mislead: a failure may reveal another direction or become part of later success, so present defeat need not define the whole trajectory.

Source details

The Majesty of Calmness, “Failure as a Success.” The passage is motivational interpretation, not a promise that every loss will produce a better outcome.

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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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