--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fortunate is he whose earnest purpose…" description: "\"“The fortunate is he whose earnest purpose never swerves, Whose slightest action or inaction serves The one great aim. Why, even Death stands still, An..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/ella-wilcox-wheeler-235498_death_the-fortunate-is-he-whose-earnest-purpos_2368311.jpg" --- # The fortunate is he whose earnest purpose never swerves… ![“The fortunate is he whose earnest purpose never swerves, Whose slightest action or inaction serves The one great aim. Why, even Death stands still, And waits an hour sometimes For such a will.” quote by Ella Wilcox Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/ella-wilcox-wheeler-235498_death_the-fortunate-is-he-whose-earnest-purpos_2368311.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/ella-wilcox-wheeler-235498_death_the-fortunate-is-he-whose-earnest-purpos_2368311.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/ella-wilcox-wheeler-235498_death_the-fortunate-is-he-whose-earnest-purpos_2368311.jpg) > ““The fortunate is he whose earnest purpose never swerves, Whose slightest action or inaction serves The one great aim. Why, even Death stands still, And waits an hour sometimes For such a will.”” [Ella Wilcox Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wilcox-wheeler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A steadfast purpose guides actions, making even death pause for the will behind them. **In simple terms:** Purposeful resolve can pause fate. Key Takeaway Cultivate unwavering purpose. Themes determination purpose will death fortune Mood reflective inspired serene Type Death:1 Determination:1 Fortunate:0 Luck:0 Purpose:1 Will:1 Stands Waits:0 Earnest Purpose:1 Fortunate Earnest:0 Swerves Slightest:0 When to use this quote - personal goal setting - spiritual practice - overcoming adversity - life planning - meditation Key Concepts philosophy psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What purpose drives your daily actions? - How does purpose affect your perception of death? A Different Perspective Even strong will cannot control external events beyond personal agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Determination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determination/) [Earnest Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earnest-purpose-1394341/) [Fortunate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortunate/) [Fortunate Earnest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortunate-earnest-5824232/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Stands Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stands-waits-667985/) [Swerves Slightest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swerves-slightest-5824233/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) ## Related quotes > [Beauty stands and waits with gravity to start her death-defying leap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/beauty-stands-and-waits-with-gravity-to-start-her-death-defying-leap/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [An earnest purpose finds time, or makes it. It seizes on spare moments, and turns fragments to golden account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/an-earnest-purpose-finds-time-or-makes-it-it-seizes-on-spare-moments/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [The chief want, in every state that I have been into, was a high and earnest purpose in its inhabitants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-chief-want-in-every-state-that-i-have-been-into-was-a-high-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Why, even Death stands still and waits an hour for such a will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/why-even-death-stands-still-and-waits-an-hour-for-such-a-will/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [There are those... who enter the world in such poverty that they are deprived of both the means and the motivation to improve their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aga-khan-iv/there-are-those-who-enter-the-world-in-such-poverty-that-they-are/) [Aga Khan IV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aga-khan-iv/) > [I can't say it was challenging for me to shake the image of Frasier. 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There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. 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Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The fortunate is he whose earnest purpose never swerves, Whose slightest action or inaction serves The one great aim. 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