Our wasted oil unprofitably burns,
Like hidden lamps in old sepulchral urns.

Our wasted oil unprofitably burns,
Like hidden lamps in old sepulchral urns.

That puts it not unto the touch
To win or lose it all.

That puts it not unto the touch
To win or lose it all.

For 'tis a truth well known to most,
That whatsoever thing is lost,
We seek it, ere read more

For 'tis a truth well known to most,
That whatsoever thing is lost,
We seek it, ere it comes to light,
In every cranny but the right.

Things that are not at all, are never lost.

Things that are not at all, are never lost.

But over all things brooding slept
The quiet sense of something lost.

But over all things brooding slept
The quiet sense of something lost.

The acknowledgment of our weakness is the first step toward repairing our loss.

The acknowledgment of our weakness is the first step toward repairing our loss.

There are occasions when it is undoubtedly better to incur loss than to make gain.

There are occasions when it is undoubtedly better to incur loss than to make gain.

Hope of ill gain is the beginning of loss.

Hope of ill gain is the beginning of loss.

A son could bear with great complacency, the death of his father,
while the loss of his inheritance might read more

A son could bear with great complacency, the death of his father,
while the loss of his inheritance might drive him to despair.
[Lat., Gli huomini dimenticano piu teste la morte del padre, che
la perdita del patrimonie.]