Ecclesiastes 7:3

Sorrow is better than laughter The thought is essentially the same as that of the preceding verse, but is somewhat more generalized. We are reminded of the Greek axiom, παθεῖν, μαθεῖν ("Pain is gain"), of the teaching of Æschylus.

Ζῆνα …

τὸν φρονεῖν βροτοὺς ὁδώ-

σαντα, τὸν πάθει μάθος

θέντα κυρίως ἔχειν.

"Yea, Zeus, who leadeth men in wisdom's way

And fixeth fast the law

That pain is gain."

Agam. 170.

There is a moral improvement rising out of sorrow which is not gained from enjoyment however blameless. The "Penseroso" is after all a character of nobler stamp than the "Allegro."