Today, thanks to Sheldon Cooper of " The Big Bang Theory " (episode 20 season 7 The Relationship Diremption ), I learned a very nice little story. As Sheldon says, the Persian poet Attar of Nishapur (c. 1145 - c. 1221) records the fable of a powerful king who asks an assembled group of wise men to create a ring that will make him happy when he is sad (and vice versa). After deliberation the sages hand him a simple ring with the words " This too will pass " etched on it, which has the desired effect. ( Picture : ring with the " this too shall pass " inscription is on sale on Amazon) Googling around, I learned that the story is actually narrated by other authors too, and its true origin remains uncertain. The sentence and in general the story of an "Eastern monarch" was included in a speech given on September 30, 1859, by Abraham Lincoln before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society in Milwaukee : It is said an Eastern monar...