--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One seeks to make the loved one entirely…" description: "\"One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched.\" — Jean de la Bruyere" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_entirely_one-seeks-to-make-the-loved-one-entirely_2453256.png" --- # One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if… ![“One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched.” quote by Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_entirely_one-seeks-to-make-the-loved-one-entirely_2453256.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_entirely_one-seeks-to-make-the-loved-one-entirely_2453256.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_entirely_one-seeks-to-make-the-loved-one-entirely_2453256.png) > “One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched.” [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The desire to fully control another's happiness can lead to extreme outcomes, either total joy or total suffering. **In simple terms:** Trying to control others' feelings can cause harm. Key Takeaway Seek balance, respect autonomy. Themes control relationships extremes Mood reflective cautious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - parenting - romantic partnership - friendship - leadership Key Concepts autonomy power dynamics emotional responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you respect others' feelings while caring? - What limits should you set on influencing others? A Different Perspective Assuming total control ignores personal agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Entirely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entirely/) [Entirely Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entirely-happy-588121/) [Entirely Wretched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entirely-wretched-588120/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happy Entirely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-entirely-319537/) [Loved Entirely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loved-entirely-588119/) [Wretched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wretched/) ## Related quotes > [Happy is entirely up to you and always has been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janette-rallison/happy-is-entirely-up-to-you-and-always-has-been/) [Janette Rallison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janette-rallison/) > [Most happy is he, who is entirely self-reliant, and who centres all his requirements in himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/most-happy-is-he-who-is-entirely-self-reliant-and-who-centres-all-his/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [Most happy is he who is entirely self-reliant, and who centers all his requirements in himself alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/most-happy-is-he-who-is-entirely-self-reliant-and-who-centers-all-his/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [To be entirely happy in marriage, the same thing must be important to both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-of-romania/to-be-entirely-happy-in-marriage-the-same-thing-must-be-important-to/) [Marie of Romania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-of-romania/) > [I don't think an opera house is ever a place that can make you entirely happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-haitink/i-don-t-think-an-opera-house-is-ever-a-place-that-can-make-you/) [Bernard Haitink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-haitink/) > [“Matt only knew that he was entirely happy, wholly in love, and that years of this rolled ahead, waiting for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/matt-only-knew-that-he-was-entirely-happy-wholly-in-love-and-that/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/of-all-the-things-which-wisdom-provides-to-make-us-entirely-happy/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [“Perhaps it was not an easy thing, to be so entirely happy. Perhaps it was actually quite a fearful state to live in--the knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/perhaps-it-was-not-an-easy-thing-to-be-so-entirely-happy-perhaps-it/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [Most men spend the best part of their lives making the remaining part wretched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/most-men-spend-the-best-part-of-their-lives-making-the-remaining-part/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [If women were by nature what they make themselves by art; if they were to lose suddenly all the freshness of their complexion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/if-women-were-by-nature-what-they-make-themselves-by-art-if-they-were/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Never put off till tomorrow what you can avoid doing entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-put-off-till-tomorrow-what-you-can-avoid-doing-entirely/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are some people, who place enormous value on their home and feel that it defines them, that a stain on the carpet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/there-are-some-people-who-place-enormous-value-on-their-home-and-feel/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I have a very low tolerance for boredom and often think I would have missed out on books entirely if Id grown up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-have-a-very-low-tolerance-for-boredom-and-often-think-i-would-have/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [I would not be surprised to see Syria break apart entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-g-stavridis/i-would-not-be-surprised-to-see-syria-break-apart-entirely/) [James G. Stavridis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-g-stavridis/) > [If you devote yourself entirely to a pursuit, there is no way you cannot find beauty and fulfillment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-gillies/if-you-devote-yourself-entirely-to-a-pursuit-there-is-no-way-you/) [Daniel Gillies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gillies/) ## More by Jean de la Bruyere > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The unfaithful woman, if she is known for such by the person concerned, is only unfaithful. If she is thought faithful, she is perfidious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/the-unfaithful-woman-if-she-is-known-for-such-by-the-person-concerned/) [Jean De La Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Some people pretend they never were in love and never wrote poetry; two weaknesses which they dare not own -- one of the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/some-people-pretend-they-never-were-in-love-and-never-wrote-poetry/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [How much wit, good-nature, indulgences, how many good offices and civilities, are required among friends to accomplish in some years what a lovely face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/how-much-wit-good-nature-indulgences-how-many-good-offices-and/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [A man starts upon a sudden, takes Pen, Ink, and Paper, and without ever having had a thought of it before, resolves within himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-man-starts-upon-a-sudden-takes-pen-ink-and-paper-and-without-ever/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Born merely for the purpose of digestion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/born-merely-for-the-purpose-of-digestion/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [A man of variable mind is not one man, but several men in one; he multiplies himself as often as he changes his taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-man-of-variable-mind-is-not-one-man-but-several-men-in-one-he/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [He who knows how to wait for what he desires does not feel very desperate if he fails in obtaining it; and he, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/he-who-knows-how-to-wait-for-what-he-desires-does-not-feel-very/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The court is like a palace built of marble; I mean that it is made up of very hard but very polished people. \[Fr.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/the-court-is-like-a-palace-built-of-marble-i-mean-that-it-is-made-up/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Grief that is dazed and speechless is out of fashion: the modern woman mourns her husband loudly and tells you the whole story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/grief-that-is-dazed-and-speechless-is-out-of-fashion-the-modern-woman/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Every hour in itself, as it respects us in particular, is the only one we can call our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/every-hour-in-itself-as-it-respects-us-in-particular-is-the-only-one/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [To express truth is to write naturally, forcibly, and delicately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/to-express-truth-is-to-write-naturally-forcibly-and-delicately/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [We perceive wen love begins and wen it declines by our embarrassment when alone together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/we-perceive-wen-love-begins-and-wen-it-declines-by-our-embarrassment/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [I call those men worldly, earthly, or coarse, whose hearts and minds are wholly fixed on this earth, that small part of the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-call-those-men-worldly-earthly-or-coarse-whose-hearts-and-minds-are/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) [Explore all 464 Jean de la Bruyere quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) ## More Entirely quotes > [If you devote yourself entirely to a pursuit, there is no way you cannot find beauty and fulfillment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-gillies/if-you-devote-yourself-entirely-to-a-pursuit-there-is-no-way-you/) [Daniel Gillies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gillies/) > [Most happy is he, who is entirely self-reliant, and who centres all his requirements in himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/most-happy-is-he-who-is-entirely-self-reliant-and-who-centres-all-his/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [I would not be surprised to see Syria break apart entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-g-stavridis/i-would-not-be-surprised-to-see-syria-break-apart-entirely/) [James G. Stavridis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-g-stavridis/) > [I have a very low tolerance for boredom and often think I would have missed out on books entirely if Id grown up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-have-a-very-low-tolerance-for-boredom-and-often-think-i-would-have/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [There are some people, who place enormous value on their home and feel that it defines them, that a stain on the carpet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/there-are-some-people-who-place-enormous-value-on-their-home-and-feel/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Never put off till tomorrow what you can avoid doing entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-put-off-till-tomorrow-what-you-can-avoid-doing-entirely/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being a dad is the best thing that ever happened to me. It changed my life entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-busey/being-a-dad-is-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-me-it-changed-my/) [Jake Busey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-busey/) > [I don't think there's any show comparable to 'Game of Thrones' in terms of the way it does the fantasy element to such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-murray/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-show-comparable-to-game-of-thrones-in-terms/) [Hannah Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-murray/) > [The victory will be only entirely and finally achieved when the whole world is free of Jews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-streicher/the-victory-will-be-only-entirely-and-finally-achieved-when-the-whole/) [Julius Streicher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-streicher/) > [My father thought, and now I think too, that the system of democracy is entirely based upon the system of justice. If we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/my-father-thought-and-now-i-think-too-that-the-system-of-democracy-is/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [It was improv that really helped me start coming up with recipes and just believe in my instincts. That's why the first recipe I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aarti-sequeira/it-was-improv-that-really-helped-me-start-coming-up-with-recipes-and/) [Aarti Sequeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aarti-sequeira/) > [I studied psychology for a couple of years as a personal hobby, so you start learning about people and listening to your intuition, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/afrojack/i-studied-psychology-for-a-couple-of-years-as-a-personal-hobby-so-you/) [Afrojack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/afrojack/) > [As long as I can remember, I've always had pets. Something about the connection you share with this entirely different species just blows my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reid-scott/as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-ve-always-had-pets-something-about-the/) [Reid Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reid-scott/) > [Learning in our family was entirely self-directed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/learning-in-our-family-was-entirely-self-directed/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [For in dreams, we enter a world that is entirely our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-in-dreams-we-enter-a-world-that-is-entirely-our-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 342 Entirely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entirely/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean de la Bruyere" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/one-seeks-to-make-the-loved-one-entirely-happy-or-if-that-cannot-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Entirely" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/one-seeks-to-make-the-loved-one-entirely-happy-or-if-that-cannot-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_entirely_one-seeks-to-make-the-loved-one-entirely_2453256.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_entirely_one-seeks-to-make-the-loved-one-entirely_2453256.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_entirely_one-seeks-to-make-the-loved-one-entirely_2453256.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched.” — Jean de la Bruyere", "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": "Jean de la Bruyere", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One seeks to make the loved...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/one-seeks-to-make-the-loved-one-entirely-happy-or-if-that-cannot-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/one-seeks-to-make-the-loved-one-entirely-happy-or-if-that-cannot-be/#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 } } ] } ```