--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a plain distinction to be made…" description: "\"There is a plain distinction to be made betwixt pleasure and happiness. For tho' there can be no happiness without pleasure--yet the converse of the pr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/laurence-sterne-1405_appetite_there-is-a-plain-distinction-to-be-made_1401117.jpg" --- # There is a plain distinction to be made betwixt pleasure… ![“There is a plain distinction to be made betwixt pleasure and happiness. For tho' there can be no happiness without pleasure--yet the converse of the proposition will not hold true.--We are so made, that from the common gratifications of our appetites, and the impressions of a thousand objects, we…” quote by Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/laurence-sterne-1405_appetite_there-is-a-plain-distinction-to-be-made_1401117.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/laurence-sterne-1405_appetite_there-is-a-plain-distinction-to-be-made_1401117.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/laurence-sterne-1405_appetite_there-is-a-plain-distinction-to-be-made_1401117.jpg) > “There is a plain distinction to be made betwixt pleasure and happiness. For tho' there can be no happiness without pleasure--yet the converse of the proposition will not hold true.--We are so made, that from the common gratifications of our appetites, and the impressions of a thousand objects, we snatch the one, like a transient gleam, without being suffered to taste the other.” [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pleasure is a fleeting sensation, while happiness is a deeper, lasting state not guaranteed by pleasure alone. **In simple terms:** Pleasure is brief; happiness is deeper. Key Takeaway Seek lasting fulfillment beyond momentary pleasure. Themes philosophy psychology well‑being Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - consumer choices - relationship building - career decisions - life planning Key Concepts hedonism eudaimonia human nature Questions to Reflect On - Do you confuse pleasure with true happiness? - How can you prioritize lasting fulfillment? A Different Perspective Pleasure can sometimes lead to short‑term happiness, blurring the distinction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appetite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appetite/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common Gratifications](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-gratifications-4911046/) [Converses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/converses/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Gleam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gleam/) [Gratification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratification/) [Gratifications](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratifications-578584/) [Gratifications Appetites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratifications-appetites-4911047/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Impression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impression/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasure and happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-and-happiness/) [Pleasure Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-happiness-442674/) [Propositions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propositions/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Transient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transient/) ## Related quotes > [“Sadness is not the beginning or end of a process, but the lag between pleasure and happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isra/sadness-is-not-the-beginning-or-end-of-a-process-but-the-lag-between/) [Isra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isra/) > [Fun comes hard - like, alas, its prarens, pleasure and happiness, whom we have to pursue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/fun-comes-hard-like-alas-its-prarens-pleasure-and-happiness-whom-we/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Pleasure is not the goal of man, but knowledge. Pleasure and happiness comes to an end. It is a mistake to suppose that pleasure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/pleasure-is-not-the-goal-of-man-but-knowledge-pleasure-and-happiness/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Leisure of itself gives pleasure and happiness and enjoyment of life, which are experienced, not by the busy man, but by those who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/leisure-of-itself-gives-pleasure-and-happiness-and-enjoyment-of-life/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Reading is pleasure and happiness to be alive or sadness to be alive and above all it's knowledge and questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/reading-is-pleasure-and-happiness-to-be-alive-or-sadness-to-be-alive/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Nothing is as unique as sex in nature; it is full of enjoyment, pleasure and happiness. There is no discrimination, no exclusion, no inequality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/nothing-is-as-unique-as-sex-in-nature-it-is-full-of-enjoyment/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“He now felt glad at having suffered sorrow and trouble, because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all the pleasure and happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/he-now-felt-glad-at-having-suffered-sorrow-and-trouble-because-it/) [Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/) > [If you have done something meritorious, you experience pleasure and happiness; if wrong things, suffering. A happy or unhappy life is your own creation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-done-something-meritorious-you-experience-pleasure-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why do men learn through pain and suffering, and not through pleasure and happiness? Very simply, because pleasure and happiness accustom one to satisfaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seraphim-rose/why-do-men-learn-through-pain-and-suffering-and-not-through-pleasure/) [Seraphim Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seraphim-rose/) > [“To have understood the polymorphous character of pleasure and happiness is of course to have rendered those concepts useless for utilitarian purposes; if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-c-macintyre/to-have-understood-the-polymorphous-character-of-pleasure-and/) [Alasdair C. MacIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-c-macintyre/) > [“Whoever thou art that, not content with a moderate condition, imaginest happiness in royal magnificence, and dreamest that command or riches can feed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/whoever-thou-art-that-not-content-with-a-moderate-condition-imaginest/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [There is nothing more fatal to a man whose business is to think than to have learned the art of regaling his mind with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-nothing-more-fatal-to-a-man-whose-business-is-to-think-than/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [ At the same time that she \[nature\] solicits him \[man\] to follow her not only into her open walks, but likewise to explore her… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-kett/at-the-same-time-that-she-nature-solicits-him-man-to-follow-her-not/) [Henry Kett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-kett/) > [Let a man choose what condition he will, and let him accumulate around him all the goods and gratifications seemingly calculated to make him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/let-a-man-choose-what-condition-he-will-and-let-him-accumulate-around/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [I would definitely say pleasure is not happiness. Because I think I kill pleasure. Like I take too much of it in, and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-would-definitely-say-pleasure-is-not-happiness-because-i-think-i/) [Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/) ## More by Laurence Sterne > [The insolence of base minds in success is boundless; and would scarce admit of a comparison, did not they themselves furnish us with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-insolence-of-base-minds-in-success-is-boundless-and-would-scarce/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The world is ashamed of being virtuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-world-is-ashamed-of-being-virtuous/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Digressions incontestably are the sunshine; they are the life, the soul of reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/digressions-incontestably-are-the-sunshine-they-are-the-life-the-soul/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [I was acquainted once with a gallant soldier who assured me that his only measure of courage was this: upon the first fire, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/i-was-acquainted-once-with-a-gallant-soldier-who-assured-me-that-his/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [A man's body and his mind, with the utmost reverence to both I speak it, are exactly like a jerkin and a jerkin's lining;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/a-man-s-body-and-his-mind-with-the-utmost-reverence-to-both-i-speak/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [When the affections so kindly break loose, Joy, is another name for Religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/when-the-affections-so-kindly-break-loose-joy-is-another-name-for/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Sweet pliability of man's spirit, that can at once surrender itself to illusions, which cheat expectation and sorrow of their weary moments! - long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/sweet-pliability-of-man-s-spirit-that-can-at-once-surrender-itself-to/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Philosophy has a fine saying for everything.-For Death it has an entire set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/philosophy-has-a-fine-saying-for-everything-for-death-it-has-an/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Dear sensibility! Source inexhausted of all that's precious in our joys, or costly in our sorrows! Eternal fountain of our feelings! 'tis here I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/dear-sensibility-source-inexhausted-of-all-that-s-precious-in-our/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The best friends in the world may differ sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-best-friends-in-the-world-may-differ-sometimes/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Beauty has so many charms, one knows not how to speak against it; and when it happens that a graceful figure is the habitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/beauty-has-so-many-charms-one-knows-not-how-to-speak-against-it-and/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The best hearts are ever the bravest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-best-hearts-are-ever-the-bravest/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Hail! the small courtesies of life, for smooth do ye make the road of it, like grace and beauty, which beget inclinations to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/hail-the-small-courtesies-of-life-for-smooth-do-ye-make-the-road-of/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [There are a thousand unnoticed openings, continued my father, which let penetrating eye at once into a man's soul; and I maintain it, added…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/there-are-a-thousand-unnoticed-openings-continued-my-father-which-let/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [“Button-holes! there is something lively in the very idea of 'em - and trust me, when I get amongst 'em - you gentry with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/button-holes-there-is-something-lively-in-the-very-idea-of-em-and/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) [Explore all 244 Laurence Sterne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) ## More Appetite quotes > [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. Being possessed by a promise I live without options. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/i-could-not-limit-my-values-and-pursuits-to-what-makes-others/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [“if you cannot control your hunger and appetite, good luck managing your blood chemistry, metabolism, waistline, and, in the bigger picture, the prospect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/if-you-cannot-control-your-hunger-and-appetite-good-luck-managing/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [I don't think I've ever bench-pressed anything in my life. Until about two years ago I swam a mile almost every day. Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-antosca/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-bench-pressed-anything-in-my-life-until-about/) [Nick Antosca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-antosca/) > [If I had been an Italian I am sure that I should have been whole-heartedly with you from the start to finish in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/if-i-had-been-an-italian-i-am-sure-that-i-should-have-been-whole/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [It could be my British need for discipline that makes me admire the American appetite for freedom and passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/it-could-be-my-british-need-for-discipline-that-makes-me-admire-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [My curiosity and my appetite for evolving as an actor is one of the main components of me still working today in the business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-cattrall/my-curiosity-and-my-appetite-for-evolving-as-an-actor-is-one-of-the/) [Kim Cattrall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-cattrall/) > [I have a strong appetite and its not for food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-a-strong-appetite-and-its-not-for-food/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The plain fact is that education is itself a form of propaganda - a deliberate scheme to outfit the pupil, not with the capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-plain-fact-is-that-education-is-itself-a-form-of-propaganda-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You should also eat eggs. Not “one egg per week” or some such non-physiologic restriction. Eat what your body tells you to eat, since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davis/you-should-also-eat-eggs-not-one-egg-per-week-or-some-such-non/) [William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davis/) > [If your desires are not great, a little will seem much to you; for small appetite makes poverty equivalent to wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/if-your-desires-are-not-great-a-little-will-seem-much-to-you-for/) [Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/) > [When passions and appetites are stronger than the intellect, men are savages; when the intellect governs the passions, when the passions are servants, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/when-passions-and-appetites-are-stronger-than-the-intellect-men-are/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [A pivotal spiritual attribute is that of self-mastery-th e strength to place reason over appetite. Self-mastery builds a strong conscience. And your conscience determines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/a-pivotal-spiritual-attribute-is-that-of-self-mastery-th-e-strength/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [The commonest and cheapest sounds, as the barking of a dog, produce the same effect on fresh and healthy ears that the rarest music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-commonest-and-cheapest-sounds-as-the-barking-of-a-dog-produce-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 994 Appetite quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appetite/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is a plain distinction to be made betwixt pleasure and happiness. 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