--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unless we find repose within ourselves…" description: "\"Unless we find repose within ourselves, it is vain to seek it elsewhere.\" — Hosea Ballou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/hosea-ballou-3245_elsewhere_unless-we-find-repose-within-ourselves-i_2187007.png" --- # Unless we find repose within ourselves, it is vain to seek… ![“Unless we find repose within ourselves, it is vain to seek it elsewhere.” quote by Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/hosea-ballou-3245_elsewhere_unless-we-find-repose-within-ourselves-i_2187007.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/hosea-ballou-3245_elsewhere_unless-we-find-repose-within-ourselves-i_2187007.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/hosea-ballou-3245_elsewhere_unless-we-find-repose-within-ourselves-i_2187007.png) > “Unless we find repose within ourselves, it is vain to seek it elsewhere.” [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Inner peace must be cultivated internally; external sources cannot provide lasting fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Find peace within yourself, not outside. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal serenity. Themes spirituality self‑care philosophy Mood reflective calming Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - meditation - stress relief - personal growth - relationship counseling Key Concepts inner peace self‑reliance mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you nurture inner calm? - What habits distract you from self‑reflection? A Different Perspective External comforts may be temporary and distracting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) ## Related quotes > [In vain do we seek tranquility in the desert; temptations are always with us; our passions, represented by the demons, never let us alone:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-vain-do-we-seek-tranquility-in-the-desert-temptations-are-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If a man doesn't find ease in himself, 'tis in vain to seek it elsewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/if-a-man-doesn-t-find-ease-in-himself-tis-in-vain-to-seek-it-elsewhere/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [If we have not peace within ourselves, it is in vain to seek it from outward sources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/if-we-have-not-peace-within-ourselves-it-is-in-vain-to-seek-it-from/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [The multitudes are searching, and wandering in vain, for what they seek cannot be found in men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kansas/the-multitudes-are-searching-and-wandering-in-vain-for-what-they-seek/) [Kansas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kansas/) > [Elephants seek food elsewhere if their route is blocked, and raiding crops and grain stores brings them into conflict with people, often resulting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shand/elephants-seek-food-elsewhere-if-their-route-is-blocked-and-raiding/) [Mark Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shand/) > [ “\[Y\]ou were too alert to the figurative possibilities of words not to see the phrase \[angle of repose\] as descriptive of human as well… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/y-ou-were-too-alert-to-the-figurative-possibilities-of-words-not-to/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Old age is the repose of life; the rest that precedes the rest that remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collyer/old-age-is-the-repose-of-life-the-rest-that-precedes-the-rest-that/) [Robert Collyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collyer/) > [Certainty is the mother of repose, and therefore the common law aims at certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yorke-1st-earl-of-hardwicke/certainty-is-the-mother-of-repose-and-therefore-the-common-law-aims/) Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke > [By a garden is meant mystically a place of spiritual repose, stillness, peace, refreshment, delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-newman/by-a-garden-is-meant-mystically-a-place-of-spiritual-repose-stillness/) [John Henry Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henry-newman/) > [For retirement brings repose, and repose allows a kindly judgment of all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sharp-williams/for-retirement-brings-repose-and-repose-allows-a-kindly-judgment-of/) John Sharp Williams > [The longer I live, the more I feel that true repose consists in 'renouncing' one's own self, by which I mean making up one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-longer-i-live-the-more-i-feel-that-true-repose-consists-in/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Repose is as necessary in conversation as in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/repose-is-as-necessary-in-conversation-as-in-a-picture/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Sorrow and happiness are the heresies of virtue; joy and anger lead astray from TAO; love and hate cause loss of virtue. The heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/sorrow-and-happiness-are-the-heresies-of-virtue-joy-and-anger-lead/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Coffee and tobacco are complete repose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/coffee-and-tobacco-are-complete-repose/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Tranquillity is courage in repose. It is a statical manifestation of valor, as daring deeds are a dynamical. A truly brave man is ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inazo-nitobe/tranquillity-is-courage-in-repose-it-is-a-statical-manifestation-of/) [Inazo Nitobe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inazo-nitobe/) ## More by Hosea Ballou > [Purity in person and in morals is true godliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/purity-in-person-and-in-morals-is-true-godliness/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Envy may justly be called "the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity;" it is the most acid fruit that grows on the stock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/envy-may-justly-be-called-the-gall-of-bitterness-and-bond-of-iniquity/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Be circumspect in your dealings, and let the seed you plant be the offspring of prudence and care; thus fruit follows the fair blossom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/be-circumspect-in-your-dealings-and-let-the-seed-you-plant-be-the/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Honest and courageous people have very little to say about either their courage or their honesty. The sun has no need to boast of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/honest-and-courageous-people-have-very-little-to-say-about-either/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [The cloudy weather melts at length into beauty, and the brightest smiles of the heart are born of its tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/the-cloudy-weather-melts-at-length-into-beauty-and-the-brightest/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Servility is disgusting to a truly noble character, and engenders only contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/servility-is-disgusting-to-a-truly-noble-character-and-engenders-only/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Obedience sums up our entire duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/obedience-sums-up-our-entire-duty/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Too many people embrace religion from the same motives that they take a companion in wedlock, not from true love of the person, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/too-many-people-embrace-religion-from-the-same-motives-that-they-take/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Man, being not only a religious, but also a social being, requires for the promotion of his rational happiness religious institutions, which, while they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/man-being-not-only-a-religious-but-also-a-social-being-requires-for/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Brevity and conciseness are the parents of correction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/brevity-and-conciseness-are-the-parents-of-correction/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [There is one court whose findings are incontrovertible, and whose sessions are held in the chambers of our own breast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/there-is-one-court-whose-findings-are-incontrovertible-and-whose/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [“Kecurigaan selalu menjadi musuh kebahagiaan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/kecurigaan-selalu-menjadi-musuh-kebahagiaan/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Mystery and innocence are not akin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/mystery-and-innocence-are-not-akin/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Obedience and resignation are our personal offerings upon the altar of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/obedience-and-resignation-are-our-personal-offerings-upon-the-altar/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Liberality should be tempered with judgment, not with profuseness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/liberality-should-be-tempered-with-judgment-not-with-profuseness/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) [Explore all 135 Hosea Ballou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) ## More Elsewhere quotes > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Sometimes it has to do with other longings that are much more existential. 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I like to understand them... To play alcoholics, fetishists, strange girls, you have to dig deep within yourself. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-trintignant/i-like-characters-with-problems-i-like-to-understand-them-to-play/) Marie Trintignant > [Language would have evolved first as an internal object, a kind of "language of thought" (LOT), with externalisation (hence communication) an ancillary process. 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