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Desire


Desire

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Quotations

George Bernard ShawDancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.

—  George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925

25 likes
EpicurusDo not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.

—  Epicurus, 341-270 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

22 likes
NapoleonThe reason most people fail instead of succeed is they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment.

—  Napoleon, 1769-1821, French Emperor

13 likes
SenecaYou act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.

—  Seneca, 5 AD-65 AD, Roman philosopher

12 likes
EpicurusTo make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.

—  Epicurus, 341-270 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

11 likes
Oscar WildeIn this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.

—  Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer

9 likes
Lao-TzuLoss is not as bad as wanting more.

—  Lao-Tzu, 6th cent. BC, Chinese philosopher

8 likes
Sigmund FreudReligion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires.

—  Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939, Austrian psychologist, founder of psychoanalysis

7 likes
Emile M. CioranOnce we begin to want, we fall under the jurisdiction of the Devil.

—  Emile M. Cioran, 1911-1995, French-Romanian philosopher

6 likes
G. K. ChestertonThere are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.

—  G. K. Chesterton, 1874-1936, English writer & critic

6 likes
Robert FrostLove is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.

—  Robert Frost, 1874-1963, American poet

6 likes
RumiI once had a thousand desires. But in my one desire to know you, all else melted away.

—  Rumi, 1207-1273, Persian mystic & poet

6 likes
Frank ZappaA true Zen saying: “Nothing is what I want.”

—  Frank Zappa, 1940-1993, American musician

6 likes
Dale CarnegieSuccess is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.

—  Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, American self-help writer

6 likes
Arthur SchopenhauerMan can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills.

—  Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher

5 likes
George Bernard ShawThere are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it.

—  George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925

5 likes
Dr. Thomas FullerIf your desires be endless, your cares and fears will be so too.

—  Dr. Thomas Fuller, 1654-1734,  English physician and adage collector

5 likes
Georges ClemenceauThe best time of a love affair, is when one goes up the stairs.

—  Georges Clemenceau, 1841-1929, French Prime Minister

5 likes
Sigmund FreudChildren are completely egoistic; they feel their needs intensely and strive ruthlessly to satisfy them.

—  Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939, Austrian psychologist, founder of psychoanalysis

5 likes
Aldοus HuxleyBut I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.

—  Aldοus Huxley, 1894-1963, English writer

5 likes
EpicurusOf our desires some are natural and necessary, others are natural but not necessary; and others are neither natural nor necessary, but are due to groundless opinion.

—  Epicurus, 341-270 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

5 likes
Mignon McLaughlinWhat you have become is the price you paid to get what you used to want.

—  Mignon McLaughlin, 1913-1983, American magazine editor

4 likes
Lao-TzuTo understand the limitation of things, desire them.

—  Lao-Tzu, 6th cent. BC, Chinese philosopher

4 likes
Arthur SchopenhauerHope is the confusion of the desire for a thing with its probability.

—  Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher

4 likes
Arthur SchopenhauerWe seldom think of what we have, but always of what we lack.

—  Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher

4 likes
Jean Jacques RousseauThat man is truly free who desires what he is able to perform, and does what he desires.

—  Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778, Swiss-French philosopher

4 likes
Zsa Zsa GaborI want a man who's kind and understanding. Is that too much to ask of a millionaire?

—  Zsa Zsa Gabor, 1917-2016, Hungarian-American actress

4 likes
Henry FordIf I had asked them what they had wanted, they would have said a faster horse.

—  Henry Ford, 1863-1947, American industrialist, founder of FORD

4 likes
ChanakyaInferior people desire wealth. The mediocre class desires wealth as well as respect. But, great people desire only respect. Respect itself is considered as wealth by great people.

—  Chanakya, 370-280 π.X., Indian teacher & philosopher

4 likes
Henry de MontherlantLife is not taking, it is desire.

—  Henry de Montherlant, 1895-1972, French writer

4 likes
Erica JongWhat is the arc of the plot of one's life? “I want! I want!”

—  Erica Jong, 1942-, American writer

4 likes
Henry MillerThe trouble with Buddhism: in order to free oneself of all desire, one has to desire to do so.

—  Henry Miller, 1891-1980, American writer

4 likes
Mignon McLaughlinYouth is not enough. And love is not enough. And success is not enough. And, if we could achieve it, enough would not be enough.

—  Mignon McLaughlin, 1913-1983, American magazine editor

3 likes
George Bernard ShawLove is an appetite which, like all other appetites, is destroyed for the moment by its gratification.

—  George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925

3 likes
Steve JobsYou can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.

—  Steve Jobs, 1955-2011, American businessman

3 likes
George OrwellPeople can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome.

—  George Orwell, 1903-1950, British writer

3 likes
Niccolò MachiavelliAnyone who studies present and ancient affairs will easily see how in all cities and all peoples there still exist, and have always existed, the same desires and passions.

—  Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527, Italian political philosopher

3 likes
Samuel JohnsonLife is a progress from want to want, not from enjoyment to enjoyment.

—  Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English writer

3 likes
Samuel JohnsonI have already enjoyed too much; give me something to desire.

—  Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English writer

3 likes
Antonio PorchiaI stop wanting what I am looking for, looking for it.

—  Antonio Porchia, 1885-1968, Italian-Argentinian poet

3 likes
Dr. Thomas FullerHe is rich that is satisfied.

—  Dr. Thomas Fuller, 1654-1734,  English physician and adage collector

3 likes
Napoleon HillFirst you fuel the desire, then the desire will fuel you.

—  Napoleon Hill, 1883-1970, American self-help writer

3 likes
Napoleon HillWeak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire brings a small amount of heat.

—  Napoleon Hill, 1883-1970, American self-help writer

3 likes
RumiI don’t want learning, or dignity, or respectability. I want this music, and this dawn, and the warmth of your cheek against mine.

—  Rumi, 1207-1273, Persian mystic & poet

3 likes
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeThe man's desire is for the woman; but the woman's desire is rarely other than for the desire of the man.

—  Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834, English poet & philosopher

3 likes
William ShakespeareCan one desire too much of a good thing?

—  William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, English poet & playwright ‐ As You Like It

3 likes
Duc de LevisHow many desires are decorated with the name of wills.

—  Duc de Levis, 1764-1830, French politician & author of maxims

2 likes
Thomas HobbesIt is one thing to desire, another to be in capacity fit for what we desire.

—  Thomas Hobbes, 1588-1679, English philosopher

2 likes
Gustave FlaubertPoor little thing! She’s gasping for love like a carp on a kitchen table gasping for water.

—  Gustave Flaubert, 1821-1880, French writer

2 likes
Eric HofferWe are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents.

—  Eric Hoffer, 1902-1983, American writer & philosopher

2 likes
Somerset MaughamOften the best way to overcome desire is to satisfy it.

—  Somerset Maugham, 1874-1965, British writer

2 likes
Sylvia PlathPerhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.

—  Sylvia Plath, 1932-1963, American poet & writer

2 likes
Samuel JohnsonEvery man is rich or poor according to the proportion between his desires and his enjoyments.

—  Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English writer

2 likes
Antonio PorchiaHe who has made a thousand things and he who has made none, both feel the same desire: to make something.

—  Antonio Porchia, 1885-1968, Italian-Argentinian poet

2 likes
Jim RohnHumans have the remarkable ability to get exactly what they must have. But there is a difference between a “must” and a “want.”

—  Jim Rohn, 1930-2009, American self-help speker

2 likes
Jim RohnWhen you know what you want, and you want it bad enough, you'll find a way to get it.

—  Jim Rohn, 1930-2009, American self-help speker

2 likes
Franklin RooseveltIt isn't sufficient just to want - you've got to ask yourself what you are going to do to get the things you want.

—  Franklin Roosevelt, 1882-1945, American President [1936-1945]

2 likes
Marcel ProustDesire makes everything blossom; possession makes everything wither and fade.

—  Marcel Proust, 1871-1922, French writer

2 likes
RumiThe desire to know your own soul will end all other desires.

—  Rumi, 1207-1273, Persian mystic & poet

2 likes
Lawrence DurrellWhatever the heart desires, it purchases at the cost of soul.

—  Lawrence Durrell, 1912-1990, British writer

2 likes
Margaret AtwoodTo want is to have a weakness.

—  Margaret Atwood, 1939 -, Canadian writer

2 likes
Vladimir NabokovAt eight, he had once told his mother that he wanted to paint air.

—  Vladimir Nabokov, 1899-1977, Russian-American writer

2 likes
Charles BukowskiWhat a woman wants is a reaction. What a man wants is a woman.

—  Charles Bukowski, 1920-1994, American writer

Baltasar GracianAlways leave something to wish for; otherwise you will be miserable from your very happiness.

—  Baltasar Gracian, 1601-1658, Spanish writer

Nicolas Gomez DavilaIn society just as in the soul, when hierarchies abdicate, the appetites rule.

—  Nicolas Gomez Davila, 1913-1994, Colombian writer

Gustave FlaubertShe wanted to die, but she also wanted to live in Paris.

—  Gustave Flaubert, 1821-1880, French writer ‐ Madame Bovary

Thomas HobbesFor there is no such thing as perpetual Tranquility of mind, while we live here; because Life itself is but Motion, and can never be without Desire, nor without Fear, no more than without Sense.

—  Thomas Hobbes, 1588-1679, English philosopher

John SteinbeckIt is not good to want a thing too much. It sometimes drives the luck away. You must want it just enough, and you must be very tactful with the gods.

—  John Steinbeck, 1902-1968, American writer, Nobel 1962

BouddhaDesires are the source of sorrow.

—  Bouddha, 563-483 BC, Indian founder of Buddhism

Jean RostandWho does not ask for anything is that he expects everything.

—  Jean Rostand, 1894-1977, French scientist & philosopher

Coco ChanelI don’t know why women want any of the things men have, when one of the things that women have is men.

—  Coco Chanel, 1883-1971, French fashion designer

André MalrauxAll sadism seems the delusional will of an impossible possession.

—  André Malraux, 1901-1976, French writer & statesman

Theodore AdornoPeople know what they want because they know what other people want.

—  Theodore Adorno, 1903-1969, German philosopher

W.H. AudenDesire, even in its wildest tantrums, can neither persuade me it is love nor stop me from wishing it were.

—  W.H. Auden, 1907-1973, British poet

W.H. AudenAll wishes, whatever their apparent content, have the same and unvarying meaning: “I refuse to be what I am.”

—  W.H. Auden, 1907-1973, British poet

Ashleigh BrilliantHere is a guaranteed way to get more of what you want: want less.

—  Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933-, British cartoonist & epigrammatist

Dale CarnegieOne of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.

—  Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, American self-help writer

George HerbertHe begins to die, that quits his desires.

—  George Herbert, 1593-1633, Welsh poet

André BretonDesire, the only source of the world, desire, the only rigor that man has to know.

—  André Breton, 1896-1966, French writer, founder of Surrealism

Nicolas ChamfortDon’t you know that we must always have a place where we never go but where we think we’d be happy if we did?

—  Nicolas Chamfort, 1740-1794, French writer

Marguerite YourcenarWe are not free as long as we desire, as we want, as we fear perhaps as long as we live.

—  Marguerite Yourcenar, 1903-1987, French writer

Quotes in Verse

Emily DickinsonThe Heart wants what it wants
or else it does not care.

—  Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886, American poet

Funny Quotes

Ashleigh BrilliantAll I want is a warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power.

—  Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933-, British cartoonist & epigrammatist

Frank SinatraFor years I've nursed a secret desire to spend the Fourth of July in a double hammock with a swingin' redheaded broad … but I could never find me a double hammock.

—  Frank Sinatra, 1915-1998, American singer

Ancient Greek

DemocritusExcessive desires create excessive poverties.

Μείζονες γαρ ορέξεις μείζονας ενδείας ποιεύουσιν.

—  Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

7 likes
EpictetusSorrow is not the result of poverty, but of desire.

Ου πενία λύπην εργάζεται, αλλά επιθυμία.

—  Epictetus, 50-120 AD, Ancient Greek Stoic philosopher

6 likes
MenanderWomen know nothing excpet from what they want.

Γυνή γαρ ουδέν οίδε πλην ό βούλεται.

—  Menander, 4th cent. BC, Ancient Greek dramatist (New Comedy)

5 likes
HomerBut Zeus does not bring to accomplishment all thoughts in men's minds.

Αλλ' ου Ζεὺς άνδρεσσι νοήματα πάντα τελευτά.

—  Homer, c. 800-750 BC, Ancient Greek Poet

4 likes
MenanderWe all want to get rich but we cannot.

Βουλόμεθα πλουτείν πάντες αλλ’ ου δυνάμεθα.

—  Menander, 4th cent. BC, Ancient Greek dramatist (New Comedy)

3 likes
DemocritusFierce desire for one thing blinds the soul to other things.

Αι περί τι σφοδραί ορέξεις τυφλούσιν εις τάλλα την ψυχήν.

—  Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

2 likes
DemocritusHe who desires more loses what he has now.

Η του πλέονος επιθυμίη το παρεόν απόλλυσι.

—  Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

2 likes

Proverbs

English proverbIf wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

—  English proverb

4 likes



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