Don Marquis, The Paradox
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'Tis evanescence that endures; The loveliness that dies the soonest has the longest life. The rainbow is a momentary thing, The afterglows are ashes while we gaze.

— Don Marquis on Beauty

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "'Tis evanescence that endures; The loveliness that dies the soonest has the longest life. The rainbow is a momentary thing, The afterglows are ashes while we gaze." in the context of "Don Marquis, The Paradox" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Beauty" (Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations: Quotes reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1922), pp. 57-63) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Don Marquis

About Don Marquis

Donald Robert Perry Marquis (29 July 1878 – 29 December 1937) was an American humorist, journalist, novelist, poet, cartoonist, newspaper columnist, and playwright most famous for creating the characters "Archy" the cockroach, and "Mehitabel" the cat.