The worldly wisdom of some convinced them that it gave more joy than sorrow; so they took and used it as long as it chanced to please them.

The worldly wisdom of others convinced them that it gave more sorrow than joy, so they did all they could, like Lucretius, to school themselves into a contempt for it.

But for the modern world it is on quite a different footing, and its value does not depend on such a chance balance of pains and pleasures.

The latter are not of the same nature as the former, and so cannot be outweighed by them.

In the judgment of the modern world, '_Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all_.
To love, in fact, though not exactly said to be incumbent upon all men, is yet endowed with something that is almost of the nature of a duty.