--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pain may be said to follow pleasure as…" description: "\"Pain may be said to follow pleasure as its shadow.\" — Charles Caleb Colton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/charles-caleb-colton-270_may_pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-i_859723.png" --- # Pain may be said to follow pleasure as its shadow. ![“Pain may be said to follow pleasure as its shadow.” quote by Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/charles-caleb-colton-270_may_pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-i_859723.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/charles-caleb-colton-270_may_pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-i_859723.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/charles-caleb-colton-270_may_pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-i_859723.png) > “Pain may be said to follow pleasure as its shadow.” [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pleasure casts a lingering shadow of pain, reminding us that joy and sorrow are intertwined. **In simple terms:** Pleasure is followed by pain’s shadow. Key Takeaway Accept the duality of experiences. Themes pleasure pain dualism Mood reflective somber Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - Celebrations - loss - personal growth Key Concepts Stoicism existentialism emotional cycles Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect your pursuit of happiness? - Can you find balance amid pleasure and pain? A Different Perspective Ignoring pain can lead to denial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain and pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-and-pleasure/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [“The Shadow. It cannot be grasped. Chase your shadow and it will, flee; turn your back on it and it will follow you. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-shadow-it-cannot-be-grasped-chase-your-shadow-and-it-will-flee/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Nature has placed mankind under the government of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/nature-has-placed-mankind-under-the-government-of-two-sovereign-2/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [“What happened was pain and pleasure and shock and satisfaction all rolled into one. 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If this is the price you must pay for the hours you enjoy, is it too much?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/life-is-both-pain-and-pleasure-if-this-is-the-price-you-must-pay-for/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [“It is a known fact that pain and pleasure are the two most basic elements of life. But the secret is to simplify that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bauvard/it-is-a-known-fact-that-pain-and-pleasure-are-the-two-most-basic/) [Bauvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bauvard/) > [“God is a random event, a nexus of pain and pleasure and making and breaking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/god-is-a-random-event-a-nexus-of-pain-and-pleasure-and-making-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“I’ve learned that the worst pain, fear, and torment I’ve ever experienced has only deepened my ability to experience joy. 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Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/god-whispers-to-us-in-our-pleasures-speaks-to-us-in-our-conscience/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [There is a pleasure that is born of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/there-is-a-pleasure-that-is-born-of-pain/) [Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/) > [Soon is the struggle past, and to the earth, To the eternal sun, I render back These atoms, joined in me for pain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/soon-is-the-struggle-past-and-to-the-earth-to-the-eternal-sun-i/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) ## More by Charles Caleb Colton > [Villainy that is vigilant will be an overmatch for virtue, if she slumber at her post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/villainy-that-is-vigilant-will-be-an-overmatch-for-virtue-if-she/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/to-dare-to-live-alone-is-the-rarest-courage-since-there-are-many-who/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [It is doubtful whether mankind are most indebted to those who like Bacon and Butler dig the gold from the mine of literature, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-doubtful-whether-mankind-are-most-indebted-to-those-who-like/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. 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Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-b-joshua/) Browse all 33,019 May quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Pain may be said to follow pleasure as its shadow.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Caleb Colton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-its-shadow/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "May" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-its-shadow/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/charles-caleb-colton-270_may_pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-i_859723.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/charles-caleb-colton-270_may_pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-i_859723.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/charles-caleb-colton-270_may_pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-i_859723.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Pain may be said to follow pleasure as its shadow.” — Charles Caleb Colton", "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": "Charles Caleb Colton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Pain may be said to follow...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-its-shadow/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-its-shadow/#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 } } ] } ```