--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The important question is not, what will…" description: "\"The important question is not, what will yield to man a few scattered pleasures, but what will render his life happy on the whole amount.\" — Joseph Add..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/joseph-addison-377_happiest_the-important-question-is-not-what-will_1641787.jpg" --- # The important question is not, what will yield to man a… ![“The important question is not, what will yield to man a few scattered pleasures, but what will render his life happy on the whole amount.” quote by Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/joseph-addison-377_happiest_the-important-question-is-not-what-will_1641787.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/joseph-addison-377_happiest_the-important-question-is-not-what-will_1641787.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/joseph-addison-377_happiest_the-important-question-is-not-what-will_1641787.jpg) > “The important question is not, what will yield to man a few scattered pleasures, but what will render his life happy on the whole amount.” [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that true happiness comes from overall life fulfillment, not isolated pleasures. **In simple terms:** Happiness is holistic, not just scattered joys. Key Takeaway Seek lasting, comprehensive fulfillment. Themes happiness fulfillment holistic wellbeing life purpose balance Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career satisfaction - relationship building - long‑term goal setting - health and wellness Key Concepts philosophy ethics psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does a fulfilling life look like for you? - How can you balance immediate enjoyment with long‑term happiness? A Different Perspective Short‑term pleasures can distract from deeper satisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiest/) [Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-happy/) [Pleasures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasures/) [Pleasures Render](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasures-render-574776/) [Scattered Pleasures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scattered-pleasures-574775/) ## Related quotes > [Whatever events in progress shall disgust men with cities, and infuse into them the passion for country life, and country pleasures, will render a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/whatever-events-in-progress-shall-disgust-men-with-cities-and-infuse/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Man's real life is happy, chiefly because he is ever expecting that it soon will be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/man-s-real-life-is-happy-chiefly-because-he-is-ever-expecting-that-it/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [I mean, I’m quite happy. I’m happy in all aspects of my life. I'm very happy in all aspects of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-mean-i-m-quite-happy-i-m-happy-in-all-aspects-of-my-life-i-m-very/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [Religion contracts the circle of our pleasures, but leaves it wide enough for her votaries to expatiate in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/religion-contracts-the-circle-of-our-pleasures-but-leaves-it-wide/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [I think the most important thing in life is to be happy. If you're happy, it will show in everything that you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiara-advani/i-think-the-most-important-thing-in-life-is-to-be-happy-if-you-re/) [Kiara Advani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiara-advani/) > [I am completely happy with my life. I love everything about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/i-am-completely-happy-with-my-life-i-love-everything-about-it/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) > [Happy is he who can give himself up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/happy-is-he-who-can-give-himself-up/) [Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/) > [No, I'm happy to go on living the life I've chosen. I'm a university teacher and I like my job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-tabucchi/no-i-m-happy-to-go-on-living-the-life-i-ve-chosen-i-m-a-university/) [Antonio Tabucchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-tabucchi/) > [“A man is always in a hurry to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/a-man-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-happy/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [It may sound too good to be true, but once you've seen the happiest people in your life who have nothing, you really start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-mycoskie/it-may-sound-too-good-to-be-true-but-once-you-ve-seen-the-happiest/) [Blake Mycoskie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-mycoskie/) > [I've got so much to be happy about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-ve-got-so-much-to-be-happy-about/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [I'm quite a happy person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-comer/i-m-quite-a-happy-person/) [Jodie Comer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-comer/) > [Happy (if mortals can be) is the man,Who, not by priest but Reason, rules his span:Reason, to its possessor a sure guide,Reason, a thorn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chatterton/happy-if-mortals-can-be-is-the-man-who-not-by-priest-but-reason-rules/) [Thomas Chatterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chatterton/) > [Music plays the big role in my life.. It made happy moments even more better, and helped me when I felt like it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-plackovic/music-plays-the-big-role-in-my-life-it-made-happy-moments-even-more/) [Dejan Plackovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-plackovic/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More by Joseph Addison > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There is nothing touches our imagination so much as a beautiful woman in a plain dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-nothing-touches-our-imagination-so-much-as-a-beautiful-woman/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [We are always doing something for posterity, but I would fain see posterity do something for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/we-are-always-doing-something-for-posterity-but-i-would-fain-see/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Female Virtues are of a Domestick turn. The Family is the proper Province for Private Women to Shine in. If they must be showing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/female-virtues-are-of-a-domestick-turn-the-family-is-the-proper/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [As addictions go, reading is among the cleanest, easiest to feed, happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/as-addictions-go-reading-is-among-the-cleanest-easiest-to-feed/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [When love once pleads admission to our hearts, In spite of all the virtue we can boast, The woman that deliberates is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/when-love-once-pleads-admission-to-our-hearts-in-spite-of-all-the/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Many actions calculated to procure fame are not conducive to ultimate happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/many-actions-calculated-to-procure-fame-are-not-conducive-to-ultimate/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [T is liberty crowns Britannia's Isle, And makes her barren rocks and her bleak mountains smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/t-is-liberty-crowns-britannia-s-isle-and-makes-her-barren-rocks-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/reading-is-a-basic-tool-in-the-living-of-a-good-life/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The moral perfections of the Deity, the more attentively, we consider, the more perfectly still shall we know them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-moral-perfections-of-the-deity-the-more-attentively-we-consider/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The utmost we can hope for in this world is contentment; if we aim at anything higher, we shall meet with nothing but grief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-utmost-we-can-hope-for-in-this-world-is-contentment-if-we-aim-at/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Courage that grows from constitution often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it; courage which arises from a sense of duty acts;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/courage-that-grows-from-constitution-often-forsakes-a-man-when-he-has/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The most skillful flattery is to let a person talk on, and be a listener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-most-skillful-flattery-is-to-let-a-person-talk-on-and-be-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) [Explore all 620 Joseph Addison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## More Happiest quotes > [“Truth is, I’m generally happiest when it’s just me. It’s okay to be madly in love with yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/truth-is-i-m-generally-happiest-when-it-s-just-me-it-s-okay-to-be/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [I'm the happiest when I'm in the studio, not on a beauty parade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fka-twigs/i-m-the-happiest-when-i-m-in-the-studio-not-on-a-beauty-parade/) [FKA twigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fka-twigs/) > [Happy (if mortals can be) is the man,Who, not by priest but Reason, rules his span:Reason, to its possessor a sure guide,Reason, a thorn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chatterton/happy-if-mortals-can-be-is-the-man-who-not-by-priest-but-reason-rules/) [Thomas Chatterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chatterton/) > [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'm quite a happy person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-comer/i-m-quite-a-happy-person/) [Jodie Comer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-comer/) > [I've got so much to be happy about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-ve-got-so-much-to-be-happy-about/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [It may sound too good to be true, but once you've seen the happiest people in your life who have nothing, you really start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-mycoskie/it-may-sound-too-good-to-be-true-but-once-you-ve-seen-the-happiest/) [Blake Mycoskie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-mycoskie/) > [The happiest people among us are those who can sleep when they want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-sufyan-ibn-harb/the-happiest-people-among-us-are-those-who-can-sleep-when-they-want-to/) [Abu Sufyan ibn Harb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-sufyan-ibn-harb/) > [“A man is always in a hurry to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/a-man-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-happy/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [The happiest she'd ever been was with him, and the saddest. Was that the true test of love?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/the-happiest-she-d-ever-been-was-with-him-and-the-saddest-was-that/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [“My family was poor, but my childhood days in Mizonokuchi were the happiest of my life. Even now, when I think about my hometown,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/my-family-was-poor-but-my-childhood-days-in-mizonokuchi-were-the/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [The happiest people in the world are those who feel absolutely terrific about themselves, and this is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/the-happiest-people-in-the-world-are-those-who-feel-absolutely/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [“She loves the sun and the sea. She is her happiest there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-barolini/she-loves-the-sun-and-the-sea-she-is-her-happiest-there/) [Helen Barolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-barolini/) > [No, I'm happy to go on living the life I've chosen. I'm a university teacher and I like my job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-tabucchi/no-i-m-happy-to-go-on-living-the-life-i-ve-chosen-i-m-a-university/) [Antonio Tabucchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-tabucchi/) > [I've had a good life. Enough happiness, enough success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-landon/i-ve-had-a-good-life-enough-happiness-enough-success/) [Michael Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-landon/) [Browse all 880 Happiest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The important question is not, what will yield to man a few scattered pleasures, but what will render his life happy on the whole amount.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Addison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-important-question-is-not-what-will-yield-to-man-a-few-scattered/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-important-question-is-not-what-will-yield-to-man-a-few-scattered/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/joseph-addison-377_happiest_the-important-question-is-not-what-will_1641787.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/joseph-addison-377_happiest_the-important-question-is-not-what-will_1641787.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/joseph-addison-377_happiest_the-important-question-is-not-what-will_1641787.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The important question is not, what will yield to man a few scattered pleasures, but what will render his…” — Joseph Addison", "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": "Joseph Addison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The important question is not, what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-important-question-is-not-what-will-yield-to-man-a-few-scattered/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-important-question-is-not-what-will-yield-to-man-a-few-scattered/#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 } } ] } ```