--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness…" description: "\"Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind; and indeed cannot endure it. Happiness is not the object of life: life has no object: it is an en..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/george-bernard-shaw-68_behinds_life-at-its-noblest-leaves-mere-happines_2505145.jpg" --- # Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind; and… ![“Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind; and indeed cannot endure it. Happiness is not the object of life: life has no object: it is an end in itself; and courage consists in the readiness to sacrifice happiness for an intenser quality of life.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/george-bernard-shaw-68_behinds_life-at-its-noblest-leaves-mere-happines_2505145.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/george-bernard-shaw-68_behinds_life-at-its-noblest-leaves-mere-happines_2505145.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/george-bernard-shaw-68_behinds_life-at-its-noblest-leaves-mere-happines_2505145.jpg) > “Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind; and indeed cannot endure it. Happiness is not the object of life: life has no object: it is an end in itself; and courage consists in the readiness to sacrifice happiness for an intenser quality of life.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True fulfillment comes from sacrificing fleeting happiness for deeper purpose and courage, seeing life as an end in itself. **In simple terms:** Purpose outweighs happiness. Key Takeaway Seek deeper purpose over fleeting joy. Themes purpose courage philosophy Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - personal development - artistic pursuits - relationships Key Concepts existentialism ethics meaning Questions to Reflect On - What are you willing to sacrifice for meaning? - How do you balance joy and purpose? A Different Perspective Prioritizing purpose may cause neglect of personal well‑being. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Inner peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-peace/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Quality of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality-of-life/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) ## Related quotes > [“Prayer is my chief work; by it I carry on all else. Prayer is the nearest approach to God and the highest enjoyment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-laws/prayer-is-my-chief-work-by-it-i-carry-on-all-else-prayer-is-the/) William Laws > [“Whatever noblest things the mind received, More and more foreign matter spoils the theme; And when the good of this world is achieved, What’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-noblest-things-the-mind-received-more-and-more-foreign/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Choose the life that is noblest, for custom can make it sweet to thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/choose-the-life-that-is-noblest-for-custom-can-make-it-sweet-to-thee/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-the-object-and-design-of-our-existence-and-will-be-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“... but happiness is to joy as an electric light bulb is to the sun. Happiness always has an object, you're happy because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-tamaro/but-happiness-is-to-joy-as-an-electric-light-bulb-is-to-the-sun/) [Susanna Tamaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-tamaro/) > [All men have happiness as their object: there is no exception. However different the means they employ, they all aim at the same end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/all-men-have-happiness-as-their-object-there-is-no-exception-however/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Happiness is the object and design of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/happiness-is-the-object-and-design-of-our-existence/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [Happiness always has an object... Depends on external things. Joy... Has no object. It seizes you for no apparent reason, it's like the sun,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-tamaro/happiness-always-has-an-object-depends-on-external-things-joy-has-no/) [Susanna Tamaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-tamaro/) > [You know, that's what I've regretted the most, that joy. Of course, later there were times when I felt happy, but happiness is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-tamaro/you-know-that-s-what-i-ve-regretted-the-most-that-joy-of-course-later/) [Susanna Tamaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-tamaro/) > [Those who sacrifice their happiness for others are not less than gods, and that is our misfortune, because a common man cant get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786-correction-by-intazar/those-who-sacrifice-their-happiness-for-others-are-not-less-than-gods/) Mak\_786\_correction By Intazar > [“Life's lessons. There is no passion without sacrifice, no happiness without suffering, no success without failure, and no love without pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisy-gallagher/life-s-lessons-there-is-no-passion-without-sacrifice-no-happiness/) Daisy Gallagher > [Art is a kind of innate drive that seizes a human being and makes him its instrument. To perform this difficult office it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/art-is-a-kind-of-innate-drive-that-seizes-a-human-being-and-makes-him-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You can’t save the world, so don’t sacrifice your happiness trying.’ ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/you-can-t-save-the-world-so-don-t-sacrifice-your-happiness-trying/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Don't let people put you down and make you unhappy or don't sacrifice your happiness for someone else as you happiness matters as well!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-ansah/don-t-let-people-put-you-down-and-make-you-unhappy-or-don-t-sacrifice/) Dinah Ansah > [Never sacrifice happiness for the sake of achievement. The real key to life is to happily achieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/never-sacrifice-happiness-for-the-sake-of-achievement-the-real-key-to/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Behinds quotes > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [God hides Himself behind causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-rollin/god-hides-himself-behind-causes/) [Charles Rollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-rollin/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Behind every word flows energy. If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/conservatism-is-not-about-leaving-people-behind-conservatism-is-about/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [And the seasons they go 'round and 'round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/and-the-seasons-they-go-round-and-round-and-the-painted-ponies-go-up/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm really thankful to God, man. Like now, I'm really making a real comeback with my group. With or without a record, with or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ike-turner/i-m-really-thankful-to-god-man-like-now-i-m-really-making-a-real/) [Ike Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ike-turner/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) Browse all 6,789 Behinds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind; and indeed cannot endure it. Happiness is not the object of life: life has no object: it is an end in itself; and courage consists in the readiness to sacrifice happiness for an intenser quality of life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/life-at-its-noblest-leaves-mere-happiness-far-behind-and-indeed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behinds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/life-at-its-noblest-leaves-mere-happiness-far-behind-and-indeed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/george-bernard-shaw-68_behinds_life-at-its-noblest-leaves-mere-happines_2505145.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/george-bernard-shaw-68_behinds_life-at-its-noblest-leaves-mere-happines_2505145.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/george-bernard-shaw-68_behinds_life-at-its-noblest-leaves-mere-happines_2505145.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind; and indeed cannot endure it. Happiness is not the…” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Life at its noblest leaves mere...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/life-at-its-noblest-leaves-mere-happiness-far-behind-and-indeed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/life-at-its-noblest-leaves-mere-happiness-far-behind-and-indeed/#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 } } ] } ```