--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What if virtue, work, all our striving…" description: "\"“What if virtue, work, all our striving and sweat was simply not enough to make the animal man a happy creature?”\" — Darrin M. McMahon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/darrin-m-mcmahon-88483_animal_what-if-virtue-work-all-our-striving-and_3162269.jpg" --- # What if virtue, work, all our striving and sweat was… ![“What if virtue, work, all our striving and sweat was simply not enough to make the animal man a happy creature?” quote by Darrin M. McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/darrin-m-mcmahon-88483_animal_what-if-virtue-work-all-our-striving-and_3162269.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/darrin-m-mcmahon-88483_animal_what-if-virtue-work-all-our-striving-and_3162269.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/darrin-m-mcmahon-88483_animal_what-if-virtue-work-all-our-striving-and_3162269.jpg) > ““What if virtue, work, all our striving and sweat was simply not enough to make the animal man a happy creature?”” [Darrin M. McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrin-m-mcmahon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning whether effort and virtue alone can bring happiness to humans. **In simple terms:** Hard work and virtue may not guarantee happiness. Key Takeaway Seek balance between effort and well‑being. Themes happiness effort virtue Mood reflective philosophical Type inspirational thought‑provoking When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - mental health Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does happiness mean to you beyond achievement? - Can virtue exist without seeking happiness? A Different Perspective Happiness also depends on external circumstances and innate traits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-man-939508/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happy Creature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-creature-1846459/) [Make Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-animal-1789485/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-work-1963406/) ## Related quotes > [She was no longer that happy creature who in earlier youth wandered with me on the banks of the lake and talked with ecstasy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/she-was-no-longer-that-happy-creature-who-in-earlier-youth-wandered/) [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/) > [What can the Creator see with greater pleasure than a happy creature?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotthold-ephraim-lessing/what-can-the-creator-see-with-greater-pleasure-than-a-happy-creature/) [Gotthold Ephraim Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotthold-ephraim-lessing/) > [There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. 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These particular examples, as man, or dog, or cat, are parts of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/a-man-and-a-cat-and-a-dog-are-all-animals-these-particular-examples/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“It has been argued that man is not an animal, but I tell you, the animal in man is what makes man an animal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-okafor/it-has-been-argued-that-man-is-not-an-animal-but-i-tell-you-the/) [Lawrence Okafor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-okafor/) > [The animal man lives in the senses. If he does not get enough to eat, he is miserable; or if something happens to his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-animal-man-lives-in-the-senses-if-he-does-not-get-enough-to-eat/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) ## More by Darrin M. McMahon > [“No one could work harder to be happy," Tocqueville observes of Americans, marveling at the ceaseless, restless energy they expand in search of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrin-m-mcmahon/no-one-could-work-harder-to-be-happy-tocqueville-observes-of/) [Darrin M. McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrin-m-mcmahon/) > [“Like Rousseau, Hegel appreciated quite early on that in modern commercial societies, individuals' desires and needs were generated by the desires and needs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrin-m-mcmahon/like-rousseau-hegel-appreciated-quite-early-on-that-in-modern/) [Darrin M. McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrin-m-mcmahon/) [Explore all 3 Darrin M. McMahon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrin-m-mcmahon/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. 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It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What if virtue, work, all our striving and sweat was simply not enough to make the animal man a happy creature?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Darrin M. 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