--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We always long for the forbidden things…" description: "\"We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us.\" — Francois Rabelais" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/francois-rabelais-2038_desire_we-always-long-for-the-forbidden-things_857168.png" --- # We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what… ![“We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us.” quote by Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/francois-rabelais-2038_desire_we-always-long-for-the-forbidden-things_857168.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/francois-rabelais-2038_desire_we-always-long-for-the-forbidden-things_857168.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/francois-rabelais-2038_desire_we-always-long-for-the-forbidden-things_857168.png) > “We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us.” [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People constantly desire what they cannot have, craving the forbidden. **In simple terms:** Forbidden things become more desirable. Key Takeaway Question why you chase the unattainable. Themes desire psychology human nature temptation Mood curious reflective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - marketing strategies - relationship counseling - personal goal setting Key Concepts Freudian theory cognitive bias self‑control Questions to Reflect On - What forbidden thing tempts you? - How can you channel that desire positively? A Different Perspective Desire can be a useful motivator. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Forbidden things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forbidden-things/) ## Related quotes > [As long as I am forbidden to see the MSPAP, my children will be forbidden to take the MSPAP.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-szeliga/as-long-as-i-am-forbidden-to-see-the-mspap-my-children-will-be/) [Kathy Szeliga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-szeliga/) > [“Desire denied consumes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skyler-white/desire-denied-consumes/) [Skyler White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skyler-white/) > [Under every negative feeling is a desire that has been denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/under-every-negative-feeling-is-a-desire-that-has-been-denied/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [“Forbidden things are always better”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/forbidden-things-are-always-better/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Forbidden things - my God, I'm drawn to them like a moth to a flame.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-lee/forbidden-things-my-god-i-m-drawn-to-them-like-a-moth-to-a-flame/) [Melody Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-lee/) > [The forbidden things were a great influence on my life. I was forbidden from reading A Catcher in the Rye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/the-forbidden-things-were-a-great-influence-on-my-life-i-was/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Forbidden things have a secret charm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publius-cornelius-tacitus/forbidden-things-have-a-secret-charm/) [Publius Cornelius Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publius-cornelius-tacitus/) > [It's the picnic principle. Things taste better outdoors. And if it's a forbidden thing, so much the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franny-billingsley/it-s-the-picnic-principle-things-taste-better-outdoors-and-if-it-s-a/) [Franny Billingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franny-billingsley/) > [“There’s such a thing as being irritatingly ethical,” said Eldric. “That’s you, right now.” That’s a pleasant change. Witches are rarely accused of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franny-billingsley/there-s-such-a-thing-as-being-irritatingly-ethical-said-eldric-that-s/) [Franny Billingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franny-billingsley/) > [I was always fascinated by forbidden things people didn't want to talk about, like death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-was-always-fascinated-by-forbidden-things-people-didn-t-want-to/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Having a day job again I found really kind of fueled my fiction, because it became almost this forbidden thing where I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/having-a-day-job-again-i-found-really-kind-of-fueled-my-fiction/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [The funniest things are the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-funniest-things-are-the-forbidden/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Jill had always wanted to know what it was like to be allowed to wear her hair long, to put on a pretty skirt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seanan-mcguire/jill-had-always-wanted-to-know-what-it-was-like-to-be-allowed-to-wear/) [Seanan McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seanan-mcguire/) > [I call to mind flatness and dampness; and then all is madness - the madness of a memory which busies itself among forbidden things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-call-to-mind-flatness-and-dampness-and-then-all-is-madness-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [It is shorter to state the things forbidden than the things permitted; precisely because most things are permitted and only a few things forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/it-is-shorter-to-state-the-things-forbidden-than-the-things-permitted/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) ## More by Francois Rabelais > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [If in your soil it takes, to heaven A thousand thousand thanks be given; And say with France, it goodly goes, Where the Pantagruelion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/if-in-your-soil-it-takes-to-heaven-a-thousand-thousand-thanks-be/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A child is not a vase to be filled, but a fire to be lit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-child-is-not-a-vase-to-be-filled-but-a-fire-to-be-lit/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A certain jollity of mind, pickled in the scorn of fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-certain-jollity-of-mind-pickled-in-the-scorn-of-fortune/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Indeed, said the monk, a mass, a matins, and vespers well rung are half-said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/indeed-said-the-monk-a-mass-a-matins-and-vespers-well-rung-are-half/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I do not drink more than a sponge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-do-not-drink-more-than-a-sponge/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [ I recognize in \[my readers\] a specific form and individual property, which our predecessors called Pantagruelism, by means of which they never take anything… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-recognize-in-my-readers-a-specific-form-and-individual-property/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Tell the truth and shame the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/tell-the-truth-and-shame-the-devil/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Half the world does not know how the other half lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/half-the-world-does-not-know-how-the-other-half-lives/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [But where are the snows of last year? That was the greatest concern of Villon, the Parisian poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/but-where-are-the-snows-of-last-year-that-was-the-greatest-concern-of/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [The Lord forbid that I should be out of debt, as if indeed I could not be trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/the-lord-forbid-that-i-should-be-out-of-debt-as-if-indeed-i-could-not/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Science sans conscience n' est que le ruine de l'âme. Knowledge without conscience is but the ruine of the soule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/science-sans-conscience-n-est-que-le-ruine-de-l-me-knowledge-without/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I've often heard it said, as the common proverb goes, that a fool can teach a wise man well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-ve-often-heard-it-said-as-the-common-proverb-goes-that-a-fool-can/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [One falls to the ground in trying to sit on two stools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/one-falls-to-the-ground-in-trying-to-sit-on-two-stools/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Go, all of you poor people, in the name of God the Creator, and let him forever be your guide. And henceforth, do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/go-all-of-you-poor-people-in-the-name-of-god-the-creator-and-let-him/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) [Explore all 184 Francois Rabelais quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francois Rabelais" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/we-always-long-for-the-forbidden-things-and-desire-what-is-denied-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/we-always-long-for-the-forbidden-things-and-desire-what-is-denied-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/francois-rabelais-2038_desire_we-always-long-for-the-forbidden-things_857168.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/francois-rabelais-2038_desire_we-always-long-for-the-forbidden-things_857168.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/francois-rabelais-2038_desire_we-always-long-for-the-forbidden-things_857168.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us.” — Francois Rabelais", "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": "Francois Rabelais", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We always long for the forbidden...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/we-always-long-for-the-forbidden-things-and-desire-what-is-denied-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/we-always-long-for-the-forbidden-things-and-desire-what-is-denied-us/#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 } } ] } ```