--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A happy life is impos­si­ble; the best…" description: "\"A happy life is impos­si­ble; the best that a man can attain is a heroic life.\" — Arthur Schopenhauer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/arthur-schopenhauer-226_happy-life_a-happy-life-is-impos-si-ble-the-best-th_1592355.jpg" --- # A happy life is impos­si­ble; the best that a man can… ![“A happy life is impos­si­ble; the best that a man can attain is a heroic life.” quote by Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/arthur-schopenhauer-226_happy-life_a-happy-life-is-impos-si-ble-the-best-th_1592355.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/arthur-schopenhauer-226_happy-life_a-happy-life-is-impos-si-ble-the-best-th_1592355.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/arthur-schopenhauer-226_happy-life_a-happy-life-is-impos-si-ble-the-best-th_1592355.jpg) > “A happy life is impos­si­ble; the best that a man can attain is a heroic life.” [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A purely happy life is unattainable; striving for heroic virtues gives life meaning. **In simple terms:** Happiness is impossible; heroism gives purpose. Key Takeaway Pursue heroic ideals. Themes philosophy meaning heroism human condition Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - ethical decisions - life purpose Key Concepts Existentialism virtue ethics nihilism Questions to Reflect On - What heroic quality do you admire? - Can ordinary actions be heroic? A Different Perspective Heroic pursuits may be unrealistic for many. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happy life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-life/) [Heroic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroic/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Follow your bliss. The heroic life is living the individual adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/follow-your-bliss-the-heroic-life-is-living-the-individual-adventure/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [In a truly heroic life there is no peradventure. It is always doing or dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roswell-dwight-hitchcock/in-a-truly-heroic-life-there-is-no-peradventure-it-is-always-doing-or/) [Roswell Dwight Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roswell-dwight-hitchcock/) > [I've always felt heroic about my life... As a child, I remember little girls in the playground moaning about how boys could do more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/i-ve-always-felt-heroic-about-my-life-as-a-child-i-remember-little/) [Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/) > [It is impossible to strive for the heroic life. The title of hero is bestowed by the survivors upon the fallen, who themselves know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/it-is-impossible-to-strive-for-the-heroic-life-the-title-of-hero-is/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [“It can come a bit hard sometimes to see one's own unique, heroic life pinned so pitilessly to a wall. At other times it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/it-can-come-a-bit-hard-sometimes-to-see-one-s-own-unique-heroic-life/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Follow your bliss. The heroic life is living the individual adventure. There is no security in following the call to adventure. Nothing is exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/follow-your-bliss-the-heroic-life-is-living-the-individual-adventure-2/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [There is nothing man desires more than a heroic life: there is nothing less common to men than heroism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/there-is-nothing-man-desires-more-than-a-heroic-life-there-is-nothing/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [“I am a man who would live an heroic life and make the world more endurable in his own sight. If, in some moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-am-a-man-who-would-live-an-heroic-life-and-make-the-world-more/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [It has never been given to a man to attain at once his happiness and his salvation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-peguy/it-has-never-been-given-to-a-man-to-attain-at-once-his-happiness-and/) [Charles Peguy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-peguy/) > [In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with two means, education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/in-order-for-man-to-succeed-in-life-god-provided-him-with-two-means/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [There is some help for all the defects of fortune; for, if a man cannot attain to the length of his wishes, he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/there-is-some-help-for-all-the-defects-of-fortune-for-if-a-man-cannot/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [“He knew full well, from his Spencer, that man can never attain ultimate knowledge of anything, and that the mystery of beauty was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/he-knew-full-well-from-his-spencer-that-man-can-never-attain-ultimate/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [By persistent labor man may attain to all excellence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/by-persistent-labor-man-may-attain-to-all-excellence/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [There must be a way for man to attain all possible pleasures, all the powers and knowledge that nature can grant him, and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/there-must-be-a-way-for-man-to-attain-all-possible-pleasures-all-the/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [To vilify a great man is the readiest way in which a little man can himself attain greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/to-vilify-a-great-man-is-the-readiest-way-in-which-a-little-man-can/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) ## More by Arthur Schopenhauer > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“In accordance with such zeal, by reducing the external world to a matter of faith, he wanted merely to open a little door for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-accordance-with-such-zeal-by-reducing-the-external-world-to-a/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Imitation and custom are the spring of almost all human action. The cause of it is that men fight shy of all and any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/imitation-and-custom-are-the-spring-of-almost-all-human-action-the/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [ \[T\]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between-man-and-man-ought-to-be-not/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [The eternal being..., as it lives in us, also lives in every animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-eternal-being-as-it-lives-in-us-also-lives-in-every-animal/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [there are very few who can think, but every man wants to have an opinion; and what remains but to take it ready-made from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/there-are-very-few-who-can-think-but-every-man-wants-to-have-an/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [It is not what things are objectively and in themselves, but what they are for us, in our way of looking at them, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/it-is-not-what-things-are-objectively-and-in-themselves-but-what-they/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [ “\[Materialism\] seeks the primary and most simple state of matter, and then tries to develop all the others from it; ascending from mere mechanism,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/materialism-seeks-the-primary-and-most-simple-state-of-matter-and/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [In order to increase his pleasures, man has intentionally added to the number and pressure of his needs, which in their original state were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-order-to-increase-his-pleasures-man-has-intentionally-added-to-the/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“For the will, as that which is common to all, is for that reason also common: consequently, every vehement emergence of will is common,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/for-the-will-as-that-which-is-common-to-all-is-for-that-reason-also/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Alles Urdenken geschieht in Bildern: darum ist die Phantasie ein so nothwendiges Werkzeug desselben, und werden phantasielose Köpfe nie etwas Großes leisten, - es…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/alles-urdenken-geschieht-in-bildern-darum-ist-die-phantasie-ein-so/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Intellect is invisible to the man who has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/intellect-is-invisible-to-the-man-who-has-none/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Newspapers are the second hand of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/newspapers-are-the-second-hand-of-history/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“In travelling where novelties of all kinds press in upon us, mental food is often supplied so rapidly from without that there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-travelling-where-novelties-of-all-kinds-press-in-upon-us-mental/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) [Explore all 791 Arthur Schopenhauer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) ## More Happy life quotes > [“If you aren't happy for what you already have then what makes you think you will be happy with more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddy-malhotra/if-you-aren-t-happy-for-what-you-already-have-then-what-makes-you/) [Maddy Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddy-malhotra/) > [“I only hope that for right now, you remember that there is no place for hate in a happy life. I don’t care who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-king/i-only-hope-that-for-right-now-you-remember-that-there-is-no-place/) [A.s. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-king/) > [“To one degree or another, I have been happy most of my life, in part because the world has infinite charms if you wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/to-one-degree-or-another-i-have-been-happy-most-of-my-life-in-part/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Proceed calmly in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/proceed-calmly-in-life/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Never care how you look,care how you act,as long as you are happy with your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thapedi-mokgola/never-care-how-you-look-care-how-you-act-as-long-as-you-are-happy/) Thapedi Mokgola > [I'm generally pretty happy about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-smith/i-m-generally-pretty-happy-about-life/) [Phyllis Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-smith/) > [I don't think any woman in power really has a happy life unless she's got a large number of women friends ... because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-don-t-think-any-woman-in-power-really-has-a-happy-life-unless-she-s/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [“Been living on this earth for so long now and still don't know what a happy life feels like. I'm ready for a change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-anthony-burkett/been-living-on-this-earth-for-so-long-now-and-still-don-t-know-what-a/) [Jonathan Anthony Burkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-anthony-burkett/) > [I'm quite an optimist, quite happy in life, quite smiley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-hawkins/i-m-quite-an-optimist-quite-happy-in-life-quite-smiley/) [Sally Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-hawkins/) > [I'm attracted to the extreme light and the extreme dark. I'm interested in the human condition and what makes people tick. I'm interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/i-m-attracted-to-the-extreme-light-and-the-extreme-dark-i-m/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [By letting go, you allow everything to find it's rightful place. Once free, everything finds its way home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-brown/by-letting-go-you-allow-everything-to-find-it-s-rightful-place-once/) [Leon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-brown/) > [The number one thing I would say to someone who wants to start a business is if you really can't sleep at night and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leandra-medine/the-number-one-thing-i-would-say-to-someone-who-wants-to-start-a/) [Leandra Medine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leandra-medine/) > [The state of New Jersey is really two places - terrible cities and wonderful suburbs. I live in the suburbs, the final battleground of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-state-of-new-jersey-is-really-two-places-terrible-cities-and/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-secrets-of-a-happy-life-is-continuous-small-treats/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am completely happy with my life. I love everything about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/i-am-completely-happy-with-my-life-i-love-everything-about-it/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) [Browse all 1,025 Happy life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A happy life is impos­si­ble; the best that a man can attain is a heroic life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Schopenhauer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/a-happy-life-is-impos-si-ble-the-best-that-a-man-can-attain-is-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happy life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/a-happy-life-is-impos-si-ble-the-best-that-a-man-can-attain-is-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/arthur-schopenhauer-226_happy-life_a-happy-life-is-impos-si-ble-the-best-th_1592355.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/arthur-schopenhauer-226_happy-life_a-happy-life-is-impos-si-ble-the-best-th_1592355.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/arthur-schopenhauer-226_happy-life_a-happy-life-is-impos-si-ble-the-best-th_1592355.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A happy life is impos­si­ble; the best that a man can attain is a heroic life.” — Arthur Schopenhauer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arthur Schopenhauer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A happy life is impos­si­ble; the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/a-happy-life-is-impos-si-ble-the-best-that-a-man-can-attain-is-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/a-happy-life-is-impos-si-ble-the-best-that-a-man-can-attain-is-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```