---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Moderation and limitation represent the…"
description: "\"“Moderation and limitation represent the highest with regard to human strivings. If also an infinite longing never abandons the person because he is ro..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/helmuth-plessner-242197_balance_moderation-and-limitation-represent-the_2629862.jpg"
---

#  Moderation and limitation represent the highest with…

![“Moderation and limitation represent the highest with regard to human strivings. If also an infinite longing never abandons the person because he is rooted ... in the infinite and, thus, if a secret or open mourning never leaves him - the homesickness of one banished to finitude - so the knowledge…” quote by Helmuth Plessner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/helmuth-plessner-242197_balance_moderation-and-limitation-represent-the_2629862.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/helmuth-plessner-242197_balance_moderation-and-limitation-represent-the_2629862.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/helmuth-plessner-242197_balance_moderation-and-limitation-represent-the_2629862.jpg)

> ““Moderation and limitation represent the highest with regard to human strivings. If also an infinite longing never abandons the person because he is rooted ... in the infinite and, thus, if a secret or open mourning never leaves him - the homesickness of one banished to finitude - so the knowledge, which belongs to the effect of limitations, gives the resignation a consoling, indeed, a cheerful character. Life closes itself around a circle. Every thing points to its place and a glimpse in the space of nature reveals the law of modesty. Separation is necessary so that unification can demonstrate itself; longing is necessary so that silence does not become rigid.””

[Helmuth Plessner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmuth-plessner/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Human striving is balanced by moderation and longing, giving life a modest, cheerful character.

**In simple terms:** Limits and longing shape a modest, hopeful life.

Key Takeaway

Embrace moderation and purposeful yearning.

Themes

philosophy balance human nature

Mood

reflective hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- spiritual practice
- creative work
- community building

Key Concepts

ethics existentialism moderation theory

Questions to Reflect On

- What limits nurture you?
- How does longing inspire action?

A Different Perspective

Excessive longing may cause dissatisfaction.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Cheerfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerfulness/) [Demonstrate Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demonstrate-longing-2180559/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Infinite Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite-longing-1234956/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Longing Abandons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-abandons-2180557/) [Longing Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-necessary-2180558/) [Moderation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moderation/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Resignation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resignation/)

## Related quotes

> [Alas, human vices, however horrible one might imagine them to be, contain the proof (were it only in their infinite expansion) of man's longing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/alas-human-vices-however-horrible-one-might-imagine-them-to-be/)

[Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/)

> [Poor David Hume is dying fast, but with more real cheerfulness and good humor and with more real resignation to the necessary course of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/poor-david-hume-is-dying-fast-but-with-more-real-cheerfulness-and/)

[Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/)

> [When you drop your unnecessary things, you finally can swoop and fly in vast space. It is so blue, so bright, and so nice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/when-you-drop-your-unnecessary-things-you-finally-can-swoop-and-fly/)

[Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/)

> [“Cheerfulness and contentment are great beautifiers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-e-smith/cheerfulness-and-contentment-are-great-beautifiers/)

[Jennifer E. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-e-smith/)

> [Actions seems to follow feeling, but really actions and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/actions-seems-to-follow-feeling-but-really-actions-and-feeling-go/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [“One world is aware and by far the largest to me, and that is myself, / And whether I come to my own to-day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/one-world-is-aware-and-by-far-the-largest-to-me-and-that-is-myself/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [“Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/cheerfulness-keeps-up-a-kind-of-daylight-in-the-mind-and-fills-it/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [“Unsavoury as it is below, there is cheerfulness, and comfort, and hard, honest work above. ("In The Court Of The Dragon")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-chambers/unsavoury-as-it-is-below-there-is-cheerfulness-and-comfort-and-hard/)

[Robert W. Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-chambers/)

> [I believe that God will help us to forget things, the memory of which would do us harm, or rather that He will enable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/i-believe-that-god-will-help-us-to-forget-things-the-memory-of-which/)

[Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/)

> [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/)

[Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/)

> [Cheerfulness means a contented spirit, a pure heart, a kind and loving disposition; it means humility and ~ charity, a generous appreciation of others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/cheerfulness-means-a-contented-spirit-a-pure-heart-a-kind-and-loving/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [Even the smallest landscape can offer pride of ownership not only to its inhabitants but to its neighbors. The world delights in a garden……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-moir-messervy/even-the-smallest-landscape-can-offer-pride-of-ownership-not-only-to/)

[Julie Moir Messervy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-moir-messervy/)

> [Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man-yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/mark-how-fleeting-and-paltry-is-the-estate-of-man-yesterday-in-embryo/)

[Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/)

> [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/)

[Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [I have observed that in comedies the best actor plays the droll, while some scrub rogue is made the fine gentleman or hero. Thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/i-have-observed-that-in-comedies-the-best-actor-plays-the-droll-while/)

[Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/)

## More Balance quotes

> [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/)

[Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/)

> [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/)

[Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/)

> [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/)

[Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/)

> [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/)

[Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/)

> [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/)

[Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/)

> [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/)

[A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/)

> [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/)

[Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/)

> [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/)

[George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/)

> [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/)

[John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/)

> [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/)

[Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/)

> [I never understood how much running changes your life. I'm now obsessed. When not trying to beat my personal best, I'm talking to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/i-never-understood-how-much-running-changes-your-life-i-m-now/)

[Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/)

> [Whatever needed to be done, I need to know how to do it just as well as my wife. You know, for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/whatever-needed-to-be-done-i-need-to-know-how-to-do-it-just-as-well/)

[Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/)

> [I don't think my parents would have let me go straight into acting full time when I was 12. I do like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-don-t-think-my-parents-would-have-let-me-go-straight-into-acting/)

[Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/)

> [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/)

[Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/)

[Browse all 5,166 Balance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Moderation and limitation represent the highest with regard to human strivings. If also an infinite longing never abandons the person because he is rooted ... in the infinite and, thus, if a secret or open mourning never leaves him - the homesickness of one banished to finitude - so the knowledge, which belongs to the effect of limitations, gives the resignation a consoling, indeed, a cheerful character. Life closes itself around a circle. Every thing points to its place and a glimpse in the space of nature reveals the law of modesty. Separation is necessary so that unification can demonstrate itself; longing is necessary so that silence does not become rigid.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Helmuth Plessner"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmuth-plessner/moderation-and-limitation-represent-the-highest-with-regard-to-human/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Balance"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmuth-plessner/moderation-and-limitation-represent-the-highest-with-regard-to-human/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/helmuth-plessner-242197_balance_moderation-and-limitation-represent-the_2629862.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/helmuth-plessner-242197_balance_moderation-and-limitation-represent-the_2629862.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/helmuth-plessner-242197_balance_moderation-and-limitation-represent-the_2629862.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Moderation and limitation represent the highest with regard to human strivings. If also an infinite longing…” — Helmuth Plessner",
                "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": "Helmuth Plessner",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmuth-plessner/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Moderation and limitation represent the highest...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmuth-plessner/moderation-and-limitation-represent-the-highest-with-regard-to-human/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmuth-plessner/moderation-and-limitation-represent-the-highest-with-regard-to-human/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
