Existence Quote by Henry David Thoreau

In our pursuit of the things of this world, we usually prevent enjoyment, by expectation; we anticipate our own happiness, and eat out the…

— John Tillotson

There are things which we feel to be good and true, though in the cold light of reason and calculation many things remain incomprehensible…

— Vincent Van Gogh

“An absence of mistrust is not enough; there must be a weariness of mistrusting, and, as it were, courage must be impatient with the…

— Stendhal

The promise of pleasures so alluring that we may devote our lives to their pursuit, and then the haunting realization that these pleasures ultimately…

— Philip Yancey

We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure, but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in…

— Jack Gilbert

We want to believe in the essential, unchanging goodness of people, in their power to resist external pressures, in their rational appraisal and then…

— Philip Zimbardo

The consciousness of the falsity of present pleasures, and the ignorance of the vanity of absent pleasures, cause inconstancy.

— Blaise Pascal

A habit of finding pleasure in thought rather than action is a safeguard against unwisdom and excessive love of power, a means of preserving…

— Bertrand Russell

There exist some evils so terrible and some misfortunes so horrible that we dare not think of them, whilst their very aspect makes us…

— Jean de la Bruyere

We are prudent people. We are afraid to let go of our petty reality in order to grasp at a great shadow.

— Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Pleasures, riches, honor and joy are sure to have care, disgrace, adversity and affliction in their train. There is no pleasure without pain, no…

— Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

“The lens of Pessimism ethics; pierces the illusions of optimism, reminds us that pain and evil are not mere outliers but prevailing forces in…

— Carson Anekeya