Never a tear bedims the eye that time and patience will not dry.

Hear the words of Bret Harte, the poet of the American frontier, who wrote with tender wisdom: “Never a tear bedims the eye that time and patience will not dry.” In this saying, he offers consolation to all who sorrow, reminding them that grief is not eternal, nor are tears unending. For though pain may pierce the heart and tears may blur the sight, yet time—that great healer—and patience—that faithful companion—together restore peace to the soul.

The origin of this truth lies deep in the nature of human life. From the dawn of history, men and women have endured suffering: the loss of loved ones, the breaking of dreams, the weight of injustice. Each generation has believed, in its darkest hour, that sorrow would never lift. Yet Harte, who knew the rugged hardships of the frontier and the weary struggles of men and women carving lives in the wilderness, saw that every storm, no matter how fierce, must pass. Tears may fall like rivers, but rivers dry when the season changes. So too, patience and time dry the tears of the soul.

The ancients themselves bore witness to this healing. Think of Odysseus, weeping on the shores of Ogygia, far from his home and family. His tears fell for years, yet they did not endure forever. With the passing of time and the endurance of patience, the gods opened the way, and at last he returned to Ithaca. His grief was real, but not everlasting. This is the heart of Harte’s wisdom: even when sorrow feels endless, the cycle of life brings renewal, and tears give way to joy.

Consider, too, the story of Abraham Lincoln. In his youth, he was struck by crushing melancholy after the death of his beloved Ann Rutledge. Friends feared he might never recover. Yet though grief shadowed him for years, time and patience gave him strength, shaping his character into one of resilience and depth. From sorrow grew empathy; from loss grew resolve. Thus, when the nation itself wept in the agony of civil war, Lincoln’s heart, tempered by his own tears, became a source of solace to millions. What once seemed unbearable was borne, and grief was transformed into wisdom.

What Harte teaches us is not that sorrow is trivial, but that it is temporary. Patience does not erase pain in an instant, but it keeps the soul from breaking while time does its work. Together, they remind us that healing is not swift, but certain. Just as the winter cannot stop the spring, nor the night prevent the dawn, so sorrow cannot stop the eventual drying of tears. The heart may not forget, but it will learn to live again.

The lesson, O listener, is this: in times of grief, cling to patience and trust in time. Do not believe the lie that sorrow will last forever. When tears flow, let them fall, but know they are not eternal. Every wound has its healing, every grief its easing, every tear its drying. To endure is to win, for endurance brings the day when sorrow no longer rules the heart.

Therefore, let your actions be thus: when sorrow comes, do not despair. Embrace your tears, but hold to patience. Trust that time will one day lighten your burden. Offer the same comfort to others: remind them that their tears too shall pass, that the weight they carry will not always press so heavily. For as Harte declared with wisdom, no tear that bedims the eye is beyond the reach of time and patience, the two greatest healers given to humankind.