--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had discovered a great law of human…" description: "\"“He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it, namely, that, in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/mark-twain-22_discovered_he-had-discovered-a-great-law-of-human-a_3211472.png" --- # He had discovered a great law of human action, without… ![“He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it, namely, that, in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/mark-twain-22_discovered_he-had-discovered-a-great-law-of-human-a_3211472.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/mark-twain-22_discovered_he-had-discovered-a-great-law-of-human-a_3211472.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/mark-twain-22_discovered_he-had-discovered-a-great-law-of-human-a_3211472.png) > ““He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it, namely, that, in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.”” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People desire things more when they are hard to obtain, revealing a psychological principle that scarcity increases value. **In simple terms:** Scarcity makes things more desirable. Key Takeaway Create healthy challenges to motivate. Themes psychology motivation scarcity desire human behavior Mood thoughtful analytical Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - marketing strategies - personal goal setting - education - leadership Key Concepts behavioral economics psychological principle Questions to Reflect On - When does making something difficult backfire? - How can we balance challenge and accessibility? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on difficulty can cause unnecessary frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boy Covet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boy-covet-2074143/) [Discovered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovered/) [Great Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-law-892226/) [Human Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-action-385122/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Law Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-human-656108/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. 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That no condition of birth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dwight-weld/the-society-is-based-on-that-great-bottom-law-of-human-right-that/) [Theodore Dwight Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dwight-weld/) > [Nature's great law, and the law of all men's minds? To its own impulse every creature stirs: Live by thy light, and Earth will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/nature-s-great-law-and-the-law-of-all-men-s-minds-to-its-own-impulse/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. 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I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. 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Before I discovered it, I was walking around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/music-is-almost-like-a-therapy-for-me-it-helps-keep-me-centered-and/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [Especially for those of us who lived in single cells, you had the time to sit down and think, and we discovered that sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/especially-for-those-of-us-who-lived-in-single-cells-you-had-the-time/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [I can't really remember, but I think my life must have been a lot more productive before I discovered Facebook...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-can-t-really-remember-but-i-think-my-life-must-have-been-a-lot-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The first time I went to Abbey Road and put those headphones on, I discovered I had two voices. I no longer had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cilla-black/the-first-time-i-went-to-abbey-road-and-put-those-headphones-on-i/) [Cilla Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cilla-black/) > [My singing led into acting, and that is how I discovered acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalaine/my-singing-led-into-acting-and-that-is-how-i-discovered-acting/) [Lalaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalaine/) > [At Ungaro, I discovered the flou and the language of Paris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-valli/at-ungaro-i-discovered-the-flou-and-the-language-of-paris/) [Giambattista Valli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giambattista-valli/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [After years of research, I discovered 25 differences in the work-life choices of men and women. All 25 lead to men earning more money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/after-years-of-research-i-discovered-25-differences-in-the-work-life/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [The big problem is just this kind of gigantic piece, of kids reading less and liking it less and so getting worse at it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-scieszka/the-big-problem-is-just-this-kind-of-gigantic-piece-of-kids-reading/) [Jon Scieszka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-scieszka/) > [“I discovered race in America and it fascinated me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/i-discovered-race-in-america-and-it-fascinated-me/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [All my words are sort of shaped, all my words, my voice, my gestures, my imagination, are shaped by centuries, really. They are educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-rohrwacher/all-my-words-are-sort-of-shaped-all-my-words-my-voice-my-gestures-my/) [Alice Rohrwacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-rohrwacher/) > [I first discovered YouTube while browsing the web, and then I found people just talking into their cameras. I never even knew it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-oakley/i-first-discovered-youtube-while-browsing-the-web-and-then-i-found/) [Tyler Oakley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-oakley/) > [I'm a perceptive person. I know what's good and I don't venture into what's not good. I've discovered my own khazana. Everybody should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rekha/i-m-a-perceptive-person-i-know-what-s-good-and-i-don-t-venture-into/) [Rekha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rekha/) > [When I discovered acting, I decided that's what I wanted to do above everything else. 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