I love the expression "Hope springs eternal."
To me it means:
"It's not likely but possible, so you may as well keep hoping." As in: "I'm starting Weight Watchers for the fifth time. Hope springs eternal..."
Definitions vary:
People often retain a sense of optimism and continue hoping, even in difficult circumstances.
Human beings never stop hoping.
The Free Dictionary
We can have confidence that what we expect will happen, and we can wait for it with peace and joy.
The phrase was created by Alexander Pope in his (very long) poem An Essay on Man, wherein its meaning seems slightly different.
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest.
The soul, uneasy, and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.”
He seems to be saying that we always hope, but never really attain what we're seeking, and are therefore restless. I assume the "life to come" refers to life after death, where the author says we'll finally find true peace, or we think we will, and maybe that's what keeps us hoping. Read more here.
What do you think? Maybe you'll comment below. Hope Springs Eternal!
Note: If you click on and read the An Essay of Man link, the Hope has truly Sprung Eternal! Please contact me for an interview to tell me what it says!
Artwork by Patricia Saxton / Saxton Studio
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