SORROW.
The fountain of true poetry is sealed,
And sorrow’s touch alone can bid it flow:
Then only are its waters all reveal’d,
For inspiration’s ever bought with woe.
A collection of short meditations and aphorisms offering compact observations on human character, feeling, and conduct. It treats topics such as love, youth and age, society and politeness, conscience, gratitude, music, contemplation, and the hardening effects of experience. The tone is epigrammatic and reflective, often paradoxical, combining moral insight with personal impression rather than systematic argument. Entries are brief, titled reflections that shift between practical maxims and lyrical observation, inviting readers to reconsider familiar sentiments from fresh angles.