--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no such thing as material…" description: "\"There is no such thing as material covetousness. All covetousness is spiritual. ...Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/mark-twain-22_covetousness_there-is-no-such-thing-as-material-covet_1780934.png" --- # There is no such thing as material covetousness. All… ![“There is no such thing as material covetousness. All covetousness is spiritual. ...Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/mark-twain-22_covetousness_there-is-no-such-thing-as-material-covet_1780934.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/mark-twain-22_covetousness_there-is-no-such-thing-as-material-covet_1780934.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/mark-twain-22_covetousness_there-is-no-such-thing-as-material-covet_1780934.png) > “There is no such thing as material covetousness. All covetousness is spiritual. ...Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment.” [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. Material desires are merely symbols for fleeting spiritual satisfaction, not ends in themselves. **In simple terms:** Wanting things is about feeling good temporarily, not the thing itself. Key Takeaway Seek lasting spiritual fulfillment over material symbols. Themes materialism spirituality symbolism desire Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - shopping - career ambition - relationship expectations - personal goals Key Concepts philosophy psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What truly satisfies your spirit? - How can you shift focus from symbols to substance? A Different Perspective Material focus can distract from deeper needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Covetousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/covetousness/) [Material things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material-things/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I know fashion is a material thing, but we live in a material world and I love clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-know-fashion-is-a-material-thing-but-we-live-in-a-material-world/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [The trouble is that the expression 'material thing' is functioning already, from the very beginning, simply as a foil for 'sense-datum'; it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/the-trouble-is-that-the-expression-material-thing-is-functioning/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [The first thing I did in the studio was to want to tear that camera to pieces. I had to know how that film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buster-keaton/the-first-thing-i-did-in-the-studio-was-to-want-to-tear-that-camera/) [Buster Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buster-keaton/) > [All thought, good and bad, is creative and tends to lead to a material thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/all-thought-good-and-bad-is-creative-and-tends-to-lead-to-a-material/) Senoraroy > [... a bad attitude, that the love of money is the root of all evil and the rich are evil and greedy and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/a-bad-attitude-that-the-love-of-money-is-the-root-of-all-evil-and-the/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [The Word says, ‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world’ (1 John 2:15). Jesus warned, ‘Beware of covetousness: for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilkerson/the-word-says-love-not-the-world-neither-the-things-that-are-in-the/) [David Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilkerson/) > [Covetousness, anger and foolishness are things to sort out well. When bad things happen in the world, if you look at them comparatively, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/covetousness-anger-and-foolishness-are-things-to-sort-out-well-when/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [The evils of the body are murder, theft, and adultery; of the tongue, lying, slander, abuse and idle talk; of the mind, covetousness, hatred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-evils-of-the-body-are-murder-theft-and-adultery-of-the-tongue/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [It was with good reason that God commanded through Moses that the vineyard and harvest were not to be gleaned to the last grape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-was-with-good-reason-that-god-commanded-through-moses-that-the/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [I have heard thousands of confessions, but never one of covetousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-xavier/i-have-heard-thousands-of-confessions-but-never-one-of-covetousness/) [Francis Xavier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-xavier/) > [There are four Powers: memory and intellect, desire and covetousness. The two first are mental and the others sensual. The three senses: sight, hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/there-are-four-powers-memory-and-intellect-desire-and-covetousness/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [If we are to say no to covetousness, we must learn to say yes to contentment. This involves learning to be content with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/if-we-are-to-say-no-to-covetousness-we-must-learn-to-say-yes-to/) [Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/) > [Perfect love is to feeling what perfect white is to color. Many think that white is the absence of color. It is not. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/perfect-love-is-to-feeling-what-perfect-white-is-to-color-many-think/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let us avoid debt as we would avoid a plague...Let every head of every household see to it that he has on hand enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-reuben-clark/let-us-avoid-debt-as-we-would-avoid-a-plague-let-every-head-of-every/) [J. Reuben Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-reuben-clark/) > [There are three things against which the wise man guards: lust when young, quarrels when strong, and covetousness when old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/there-are-three-things-against-which-the-wise-man-guards-lust-when/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) ## 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. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. 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. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Covetousness quotes > [There are three things against which the wise man guards: lust when young, quarrels when strong, and covetousness when old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/there-are-three-things-against-which-the-wise-man-guards-lust-when/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Let us avoid debt as we would avoid a plague...Let every head of every household see to it that he has on hand enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-reuben-clark/let-us-avoid-debt-as-we-would-avoid-a-plague-let-every-head-of-every/) [J. Reuben Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-reuben-clark/) > [Perfect love is to feeling what perfect white is to color. Many think that white is the absence of color. It is not. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/perfect-love-is-to-feeling-what-perfect-white-is-to-color-many-think/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we are to say no to covetousness, we must learn to say yes to contentment. This involves learning to be content with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/if-we-are-to-say-no-to-covetousness-we-must-learn-to-say-yes-to/) [Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/) > [There are four Powers: memory and intellect, desire and covetousness. The two first are mental and the others sensual. The three senses: sight, hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/there-are-four-powers-memory-and-intellect-desire-and-covetousness/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [I have heard thousands of confessions, but never one of covetousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-xavier/i-have-heard-thousands-of-confessions-but-never-one-of-covetousness/) [Francis Xavier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-xavier/) > [It was with good reason that God commanded through Moses that the vineyard and harvest were not to be gleaned to the last grape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-was-with-good-reason-that-god-commanded-through-moses-that-the/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [The evils of the body are murder, theft, and adultery; of the tongue, lying, slander, abuse and idle talk; of the mind, covetousness, hatred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-evils-of-the-body-are-murder-theft-and-adultery-of-the-tongue/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Covetousness, anger and foolishness are things to sort out well. When bad things happen in the world, if you look at them comparatively, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/covetousness-anger-and-foolishness-are-things-to-sort-out-well-when/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [The Word says, ‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world’ (1 John 2:15). Jesus warned, ‘Beware of covetousness: for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilkerson/the-word-says-love-not-the-world-neither-the-things-that-are-in-the/) [David Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilkerson/) > [While it is undeniable that many have been driven to immorality and crime by the need to survive, it is equally evident that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/while-it-is-undeniable-that-many-have-been-driven-to-immorality-and/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [Bare-faced covetousness was the moving spirit of civilization from its first dawn to the present day; wealth, and again wealth, and for the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/bare-faced-covetousness-was-the-moving-spirit-of-civilization-from/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if me my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/by-jove-i-am-not-covetous-for-gold-nor-care-i-who-doth-feed-upon-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Look at them. There are your true philosophers. I think that Mack and the boys know everything that has ever happened in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/look-at-them-there-are-your-true-philosophers-i-think-that-mack-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Other passions have objects to flatter them, and seem to content and satisfy them for a while; there is power in ambition, pleasure in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/other-passions-have-objects-to-flatter-them-and-seem-to-content-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) [Browse all 126 Covetousness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/covetousness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no such thing as material covetousness. 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