--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sleep is no servant of the will; it has…" description: "\"Sleep is no servant of the will; it has caprices of its own; when courted most, it lingers still; when most pursued, 'tis swiftly gone.\" — John Bowring" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-bowring-49261_caprice_sleep-is-no-servant-of-the-will-it-has-c_1997017.png" --- # Sleep is no servant of the will; it has caprices of its… ![“Sleep is no servant of the will; it has caprices of its own; when courted most, it lingers still; when most pursued, 'tis swiftly gone.” quote by John Bowring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-bowring-49261_caprice_sleep-is-no-servant-of-the-will-it-has-c_1997017.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-bowring-49261_caprice_sleep-is-no-servant-of-the-will-it-has-c_1997017.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-bowring-49261_caprice_sleep-is-no-servant-of-the-will-it-has-c_1997017.png) > “Sleep is no servant of the will; it has caprices of its own; when courted most, it lingers still; when most pursued, 'tis swiftly gone.” [John Bowring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bowring/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sleep operates independently of will, appearing when ignored and disappearing when chased. **In simple terms:** Sleep isn’t controlled by desire. Key Takeaway Respect natural rhythms. Themes sleep willpower patience Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - nighttime routine - stress management - creative work - exercise recovery Key Concepts autonomy circadian rhythm Questions to Reflect On - How does your schedule respect sleep? - What signals tell you you’re sleep‑deprived? A Different Perspective Ignoring sleep can harm health and performance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caprice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caprice/) [Lingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lingers/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) ## Related quotes > [“Once you experience enormity, it lingers everywhere you look, and wants to be every world you say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/once-you-experience-enormity-it-lingers-everywhere-you-look-and-wants/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Once you experience enormity, it lingers everywhere you look, and want to be every word you say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/once-you-experience-enormity-it-lingers-everywhere-you-look-and-want/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The living take a part of the dead with them, carrying them around in their minds, like a song that lingers after the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fern-schumer-chapman/the-living-take-a-part-of-the-dead-with-them-carrying-them-around-in/) [Fern Schumer Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fern-schumer-chapman/) > [The tender Evenlode that makes Her meadows hush to hear the sound Of waters mingling in the brakes, And binds my heart to English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/the-tender-evenlode-that-makes-her-meadows-hush-to-hear-the-sound-of/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [As the dead lingers around, the living person suffers in the end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-the-dead-lingers-around-the-living-person-suffers-in-the-end/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Suicide still lingers in the back of my mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie/suicide-still-lingers-in-the-back-of-my-mind/) [Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie/) > [“He Is Not Dead I cannot say, and I will not say That he is dead. He is just away. With a cheery smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whitcomb-riley/he-is-not-dead-i-cannot-say-and-i-will-not-say-that-he-is-dead-he-is/) [James Whitcomb Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whitcomb-riley/) > [While the heart beats, hope lingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-croggon/while-the-heart-beats-hope-lingers/) [Alison Croggon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-croggon/) > [Photographic memory is often confused with another bizarre - but real - perceptual phenomenon called eidetic memory, which occurs in between 2 and 15…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/photographic-memory-is-often-confused-with-another-bizarre-but-real/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“But when a place has been an island the memory of water lingers, and of water magic, no matter how far away the sea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/but-when-a-place-has-been-an-island-the-memory-of-water-lingers-and/) [Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/) > [Lingering is so very lonely when one lingers all alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/lingering-is-so-very-lonely-when-one-lingers-all-alone/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“The song is over. But the melody lingers on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-song-is-over-but-the-melody-lingers-on/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“what can man do in hell, they sang; for song lingers where there is no longer any hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/what-can-man-do-in-hell-they-sang-for-song-lingers-where-there-is-no/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I don't want to make 'Chandni Bar 2.' I didn't think 'Fashion 2' will happen. If a film ends on a high note... makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madhur-bhandarkar/i-don-t-want-to-make-chandni-bar-2-i-didn-t-think-fashion-2-will/) [Madhur Bhandarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madhur-bhandarkar/) > [“But grief always hits hard and somehow lingers longer than exultation in your mind and heart,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-rojstaczer/but-grief-always-hits-hard-and-somehow-lingers-longer-than-exultation/) [Stuart Rojstaczer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-rojstaczer/) ## More by John Bowring > [There is in every human heart Some not completely barren part, Where seeds of truth and love might grow, And flowers of generous virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowring/there-is-in-every-human-heart-some-not-completely-barren-part-where/) [John Bowring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bowring/) > [The talents lost--the moments run To waste--the sins of act, of thought, Ten thousand deeds of folly done, And countless virtues cherish'd not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowring/the-talents-lost-the-moments-run-to-waste-the-sins-of-act-of-thought/) [John Bowring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bowring/) > [In the cross of Christ I glory,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowring/in-the-cross-of-christ-i-glory/) [John Bowring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bowring/) > [In the cross of Christ I glory,Towering o'er the wrecks of time;All the light of sacred storyGathers round its head sublime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowring/in-the-cross-of-christ-i-glory-towering-o-er-the-wrecks-of-time-all/) [John Bowring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bowring/) > [Chance and change are busy ever;Man decays, and ages move;But His mercy waneth never;God is wisdom, God is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowring/chance-and-change-are-busy-ever-man-decays-and-ages-move-but-his/) [John Bowring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bowring/) > [A happy family is but an ealier heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowring/a-happy-family-is-but-an-ealier-heaven/) [John Bowring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bowring/) [Explore all 7 John Bowring quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bowring/) ## More Caprice quotes > [In the indications of female poverty there can be no disguise. 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King rules or barons rule: The strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/i-see-nothing-quite-conclusive-in-the-art-of-temporal-government-but/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [A caprice is handled like a stew, and the pepper is added at the last minute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachilde/a-caprice-is-handled-like-a-stew-and-the-pepper-is-added-at-the-last/) [Rachilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachilde/) > [When faced with demanding situations, can you keep your heart as light as a feather? 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With their caprices they cut time up, abuse routes, slash the joyous flowers and split the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-crevel/broken-lines-do-not-know-what-they-want-with-their-caprices-they-cut/) [Rene Crevel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-crevel/) > [Dame Edna is that rarest sighting in our time of the absolute comic, an inspired personification of caprice whose comedy answered the primal call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/dame-edna-is-that-rarest-sighting-in-our-time-of-the-absolute-comic/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [The great merit of gold is precisely that it is scarce; that its quantity is limited by nature; that it is costly to discover,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-great-merit-of-gold-is-precisely-that-it-is-scarce-that-its/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Caprice, independence and rebellion, which are opposed to the social order, are essential to the good health of an ethnic group. We shall measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/caprice-independence-and-rebellion-which-are-opposed-to-the-social/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [Caprice in women often infringes upon the rules of decency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/caprice-in-women-often-infringes-upon-the-rules-of-decency/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [I love you boosie baltimore m.d caprice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-boosie/i-love-you-boosie-baltimore-m-d-caprice/) [Lil Boosie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-boosie/) > [Caprice is half man. There is something manly about her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bacon/caprice-is-half-man-there-is-something-manly-about-her/) [Richard Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bacon/) > [For the writer, the serial killer is, abstractly, an analogue of the imagination's caprices and amorality; the sense that, no matter the dictates and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/for-the-writer-the-serial-killer-is-abstractly-an-analogue-of-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Browse all 110 Caprice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caprice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sleep is no servant of the will; it has caprices of its own; when courted most, it lingers still; when most pursued, 'tis swiftly gone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Bowring" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowring/sleep-is-no-servant-of-the-will-it-has-caprices-of-its-own-when/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Caprice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowring/sleep-is-no-servant-of-the-will-it-has-caprices-of-its-own-when/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-bowring-49261_caprice_sleep-is-no-servant-of-the-will-it-has-c_1997017.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-bowring-49261_caprice_sleep-is-no-servant-of-the-will-it-has-c_1997017.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-bowring-49261_caprice_sleep-is-no-servant-of-the-will-it-has-c_1997017.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sleep is no servant of the will; it has caprices of its own; when courted most, it lingers still; when most…” — John Bowring", "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": "John Bowring", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bowring/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sleep is no servant of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowring/sleep-is-no-servant-of-the-will-it-has-caprices-of-its-own-when/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowring/sleep-is-no-servant-of-the-will-it-has-caprices-of-its-own-when/#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 } } ] } ```