The company's numbers are strong, but the market is shrinking — a setting sun, however glorious, is near the end.
Tips
history
The closing line of Li Shangyin's (李商隐) Late Tang quatrain 《乐游原》 (Leyou Plateau): 向晚意不适，驱车登古原。夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏。 — 'Toward evening my mood is unsettled; I drive my carriage up the ancient plateau. The setting sun is boundlessly beautiful — only that it is near dusk.' Often read as a personal allegory for the fading Tang dynasty itself.
usage
Almost always cited with the preceding line 夕阳无限好. Used whenever something splendid is near its end — retiring athletes, dying industries, waning relationships. A mainstay of wistful essay-writing.
