Quote about roses and thorns

January 21, 2009 5:32 PM

Looking for a quote about sensitivity -- something like "Only those who suffer the prick of the thorn can appreciate the beauty of the rose." Anybody know?
posted by Brzht to writing & language (3 comments total)

Perhaps this?

"But he that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose."
~Wuthering Heights
posted by Paragon at 5:49 PM on January 21, 2009

If Paragon's quote is the one you want, it's from the poem "The Narrow Way" by Anne Bronte, not Wuthering Heights. (The more general 'no rose without a thorn' thing goes back a long way.)
posted by mediareport at 6:03 PM on January 21, 2009

Thanks both. Close, so close — but not quite it. This has more to do with describing a sensitive, artistic temperament. For example, the same sensitivity that permits an artist or writer to produce great work probably means that person is also hypersensitive to emotional pain.
posted by Brzht at 5:04 AM on January 22, 2009