--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We never live, but we hope to live; and…" description: "\"We never live, but we hope to live; and as we are always arranging to be happy, it must be that we never are so.\" — Blaise Pascal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/blaise-pascal-167_arranging_we-never-live-but-we-hope-to-live-and-as_629557.jpg" --- # We never live, but we hope to live; and as we are always… ![“We never live, but we hope to live; and as we are always arranging to be happy, it must be that we never are so.” quote by Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/blaise-pascal-167_arranging_we-never-live-but-we-hope-to-live-and-as_629557.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/blaise-pascal-167_arranging_we-never-live-but-we-hope-to-live-and-as_629557.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/blaise-pascal-167_arranging_we-never-live-but-we-hope-to-live-and-as_629557.jpg) > “We never live, but we hope to live; and as we are always arranging to be happy, it must be that we never are so.” [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human existence is fleeting; we constantly seek happiness but never fully attain it, living more in hope than reality. **In simple terms:** We chase happiness but never truly have it. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection and cherish present moments. Themes existentialism hope human condition Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - daily life - mental health - spiritual practice - relationship counseling Key Concepts philosophy psychology epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How does your pursuit of happiness affect your present experience? - Can you find contentment without future expectations? A Different Perspective Hope can lead to complacency and avoidance of action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arranging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arranging/) [Arranging Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arranging-happy-5077010/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-live-652707/) [Hope to live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-to-live/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-hope/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“Thus we never actually live, but hope to live, and since we are always planning how to be happy, it is inevitable that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/thus-we-never-actually-live-but-hope-to-live-and-since-we-are-always/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Totally without hope, one cannot live. To live without hope is to cease to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/totally-without-hope-one-cannot-live-to-live-without-hope-is-to-cease-2/) [Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/) > [“Because I know you live on the hope of seeing a better tomorrow, unlike the skeptics who have nothing to live for today. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nely-cab/because-i-know-you-live-on-the-hope-of-seeing-a-better-tomorrow/) [Nely Cab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nely-cab/) > [“Read, think, debate and learn. Bring hope, beauty, unity, and joy into yours and others life. Always allow the hope to live in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/read-think-debate-and-learn-bring-hope-beauty-unity-and-joy-into/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [I'm gonna give all I've got to giveCross my heart, and I hope to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/i-m-gonna-give-all-i-ve-got-to-givecross-my-heart-and-i-hope-to-live/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [I hope to live to 100. There is so much to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-hope-to-live-to-100-there-is-so-much-to-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“We never keep to the present. We recall the past; we anticipate the future as if we found it too slow in coming and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-never-keep-to-the-present-we-recall-the-past-we-anticipate-the/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Let each of us examine his thoughts; he will find them wholly concerned with the past or the future. We almost never think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/let-each-of-us-examine-his-thoughts-he-will-find-them-wholly/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The present is never our goal: the past and present are our means: the future alone is our goal. Thus, we never live but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-present-is-never-our-goal-the-past-and-present-are-our-means-the/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The past and present are only our means; the future is always our end. Thus we never really live, but only hope to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-past-and-present-are-only-our-means-the-future-is-always-our-end/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Because if you keep hope a live it will keep you alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-if-you-keep-hope-a-live-it-will-keep-you-alive/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-very-least-you-can-do-in-your-life-is-figure-out-what-you-hope/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [We have no hope and yet we live in longing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/we-have-no-hope-and-yet-we-live-in-longing/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-very-least-you-can-do-in-your-life-is-to-figure-out-what-you-hope/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I hope I can live for the rest of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maiken-espensen/i-hope-i-can-live-for-the-rest-of-my-life/) [Maiken Espensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maiken-espensen/) ## More by Blaise Pascal > [“Do they think that they have given us great pleasure by telling us that they hold our soul to be no more than wind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/do-they-think-that-they-have-given-us-great-pleasure-by-telling-us/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [There should be in eloquence that which is pleasing and that which is real; but that which is pleasing should itself be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-should-be-in-eloquence-that-which-is-pleasing-and-that-which-is/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The method of not erring is sought by all the world. The logicians profess to guide it, the geometricians alone attain it, and apart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-method-of-not-erring-is-sought-by-all-the-world-the-logicians/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [When we read too fast or too slowly, we understand nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/when-we-read-too-fast-or-too-slowly-we-understand-nothing/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Mahomet established a religion by putting his enemies to death; Jesus Christ by commanding his followers to lay down their lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/mahomet-established-a-religion-by-putting-his-enemies-to-death-jesus/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Reflect on death as in Jesus Christ, not as without Jesus Christ. Without Jesus Christ it is dreadful, it is alarming, it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/reflect-on-death-as-in-jesus-christ-not-as-without-jesus-christ/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The Stoics say, "Retire within yourselves; it is there you will find your rest." And that is not true. Others say, "Go out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-stoics-say-retire-within-yourselves-it-is-there-you-will-find/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Happiness can be found neither in ourselves nor in external things, but in God and in ourselves as united to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/happiness-can-be-found-neither-in-ourselves-nor-in-external-things/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Amusement that is excessive and followed only for its own sake, allures and deceives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/amusement-that-is-excessive-and-followed-only-for-its-own-sake/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Rivers are highways that move on and bear us whither we wish to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/rivers-are-highways-that-move-on-and-bear-us-whither-we-wish-to-go/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [We desire truth, and find within ourselves only uncertainty. We seek happiness, and find only misery and death. We cannot but desire truth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-desire-truth-and-find-within-ourselves-only-uncertainty-we-seek/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Vanity is illustrated in the cause and effect of love, as in the case of Cleopatra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/vanity-is-illustrated-in-the-cause-and-effect-of-love-as-in-the-case/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“There is no denying it; one must admit that there is something astonishing about Christianity. 'It is because you were born in it,' they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-is-no-denying-it-one-must-admit-that-there-is-something/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Imagination is the deceptive part in man, the mistress of error and falsehood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/imagination-is-the-deceptive-part-in-man-the-mistress-of-error-and/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The majority is the best way, because it is visible, and has strength to make itself obeyed. Yet it is the opinion of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-majority-is-the-best-way-because-it-is-visible-and-has-strength/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) [Explore all 988 Blaise Pascal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) ## More Arranging quotes > [Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/figures-often-beguile-me-particularly-when-i-have-the-arranging-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [My central claim is that we become like Christ by doing one thing-by following Him in the overall style of life He chose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/my-central-claim-is-that-we-become-like-christ-by-doing-one-thing-by/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [I love arranging my music, not in alphabetical order but by mood, creating playlists for when I have energy and want to work out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/i-love-arranging-my-music-not-in-alphabetical-order-but-by-mood/) [Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/) > [The most important preliminary to the task of arranging one's life so that one may live fully and comfortably within one's daily budget of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-most-important-preliminary-to-the-task-of-arranging-one-s-life-so/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [All the words I use in my stories can be found in the dictionary-it's just a matter of arranging them into the right sentences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/all-the-words-i-use-in-my-stories-can-be-found-in-the-dictionary-it-s/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I don't want any production credit. I think producers are overrated. They're for people who, first of all, don't know anything about music or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/i-don-t-want-any-production-credit-i-think-producers-are-overrated/) [Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/) > [Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-frisch/technology-is-the-knack-of-so-arranging-the-world-that-we-don-t-have/) [Max Frisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-frisch/) > [Beautiful and minimalist, the traditional Japanese art of ikebana - arranging bouquets of cut flowers and leaves using very few elements - ideally corresponded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-ellena/beautiful-and-minimalist-the-traditional-japanese-art-of-ikebana/) [Jean-Claude Ellena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-ellena/) > [There is the first satisfaction of arranging it on a bit of paper; after many, many false tries, false moves, finally you have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-is-the-first-satisfaction-of-arranging-it-on-a-bit-of-paper/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [My mother was a wonderful, wonderful woman with a lovely voice who hated housework, hated cooking even more and loved her children. She was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-forrester/my-mother-was-a-wonderful-wonderful-woman-with-a-lovely-voice-who/) [Maureen Forrester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-forrester/) > [I just play music by listening and responding, so I don't know anything about writing songs or arranging and all of this stuff. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaimoe/i-just-play-music-by-listening-and-responding-so-i-don-t-know/) [Jaimoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaimoe/) > [The real accomplishment of modern science and technology consists in taking ordinary men, informing them narrowly and deeply and then, through appropriate organization, arranging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/the-real-accomplishment-of-modern-science-and-technology-consists-in/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/management-is-about-arranging-and-telling-leadership-is-about/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [The analysis of variance is not a mathematical theorem, but rather a convenient method of arranging the arithmetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-fisher/the-analysis-of-variance-is-not-a-mathematical-theorem-but-rather-a/) [Ronald Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-fisher/) > [I became friends on a social basis with a music professor (Dr. Alan Stein) who took a real interest in my work. He encouraged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keltonic/i-became-friends-on-a-social-basis-with-a-music-professor-dr-alan/) [John Keltonic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keltonic/) [Browse all 122 Arranging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arranging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We never live, but we hope to live; and as we are always arranging to be happy, it must be that we never are so.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Blaise Pascal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-never-live-but-we-hope-to-live-and-as-we-are-always-arranging-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arranging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-never-live-but-we-hope-to-live-and-as-we-are-always-arranging-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/blaise-pascal-167_arranging_we-never-live-but-we-hope-to-live-and-as_629557.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/blaise-pascal-167_arranging_we-never-live-but-we-hope-to-live-and-as_629557.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/blaise-pascal-167_arranging_we-never-live-but-we-hope-to-live-and-as_629557.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We never live, but we hope to live; and as we are always arranging to be happy, it must be that we never are…” — Blaise Pascal", "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": "Blaise Pascal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We never live, but we hope...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-never-live-but-we-hope-to-live-and-as-we-are-always-arranging-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-never-live-but-we-hope-to-live-and-as-we-are-always-arranging-to/#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 } } ] } ```