“He gave to Mis'ry all he had, a tear, / He gained from Heav'n ('twas all he wished) a friend.”

— Thomas Gray, The Epitaph, St. 2

About Thomas Gray

1716 – 1771

English poet, author of "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard".

“The still small voice of gratitude.”

“Alas, regardless of their doom, / The little victims play!”

“Yet ah! why should they know their fate?”

“Thou canst not joke an Enemy into a Friend; but thou may'st a Friend into an Enemy.”

“While both are dear, piety requires us to honor truth above our friends.”

“But thus do I counsel you, my friends: distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful!”

“If you would keep your Secret from an enemy, tell it not to a friend.”

“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”

“I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”