It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: “And this, too, shall pass away.” How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! — how consoling in the depth of affliction!

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)

Speech (1859-09-30), Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, Milwaukee
    (Source)

The anecdote Lincoln tells comes from a 12th Century Persian tale, which became popular in English in the early 19th Century, particularly through English poet Edward FitzGerald in 1852.