Platinum Linings
‘Every cloud has a silver lining’?
The proverbial saying ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ is used to convey the notion that, no matter how bad a situation might seem, there is always has some good aspect to it. This expression is usually said as an encouragement to a person who is overcome by some difficulty and is unable to see any positive way forward. It is a classic of the Victorian ‘despair not; strive for better things’ sentiment.
Origin : John Milton coined the phrase ‘silver lining’ in his poem Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634:
I see ye visibly, and now believe
That he, the Supreme Good, to whom all things ill
Are but as slavish officers of vengeance,
Would send a glistering guardian, if need were
To keep my life and honour unassailed.
Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night?
I did not err; there does a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night,
And casts a gleam over this tufted grove.
