--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is only by sacrificing everything to…" description: "\"“It is only by sacrificing everything to sensual pleasure that this being known as Man, cast into the world in spite of himself, may succeed in sowing ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/marquis-de-sade-1964_life_it-is-only-by-sacrificing-everything-to_2685813.jpg" --- # It is only by sacrificing everything to sensual pleasure… ![“It is only by sacrificing everything to sensual pleasure that this being known as Man, cast into the world in spite of himself, may succeed in sowing a few roses on the thorns of life.” quote by Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/marquis-de-sade-1964_life_it-is-only-by-sacrificing-everything-to_2685813.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/marquis-de-sade-1964_life_it-is-only-by-sacrificing-everything-to_2685813.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/marquis-de-sade-1964_life_it-is-only-by-sacrificing-everything-to_2685813.jpg) > ““It is only by sacrificing everything to sensual pleasure that this being known as Man, cast into the world in spite of himself, may succeed in sowing a few roses on the thorns of life.”” [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Man must renounce excess sensual indulgence to find meaning and create beauty amid life's hardships. **In simple terms:** Give up excess pleasure to find purpose. Key Takeaway Seek purpose beyond fleeting pleasure. Themes self‑discipline meaning beauty Mood reflective serious Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - overcoming addiction - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism asceticism human condition Questions to Reflect On - What does “sowing roses” mean to you? - How can pleasure be integrated without domination? A Different Perspective Renouncing pleasure can lead to repression if not balanced with healthy expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Sacrificing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrificing/) [Sensual pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensual-pleasure/) ## Related quotes > [“Roses have thorns,’ we whine. When thorns of life entwine. Simple things can bring solace to heart-Things everyone take for granted-Like tending beds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-uchendu/roses-have-thorns-we-whine-when-thorns-of-life-entwine-simple-things/) [Val Uchendu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-uchendu/) > [A life with love will have some thorns, but a life without love will have no roses. To the world, you may be one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-life-with-love-will-have-some-thorns-but-a-life-without-love-will-2/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [Love can grown among the rocks and thorns of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/love-can-grown-among-the-rocks-and-thorns-of-life/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“I fall upon the thorns of life, I bleed. And then? I fall upon the thorns of life, I bleed. And what next? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-fall-upon-the-thorns-of-life-i-bleed-and-then-i-fall-upon-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [You are a rose that has its thorns. Although life may drag you down, time to time, don't hold a grudge but look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-a-rose-that-has-its-thorns-although-life-may-drag-you-down/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I Fall upon the thorns of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-fall-upon-the-thorns-of-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If there are many thorns in your life, it is because you are a rose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-there-are-many-thorns-in-your-life-it-is-because-you-are-a-rose/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [A life with love will have some thorns, but a life without love will have no roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-life-with-love-will-have-some-thorns-but-a-life-without-love-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...for although we may fully respect our social conventions...it may unfortunately happen that , through the perversity of others we encounter only the thorns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-desade/for-although-we-may-fully-respect-our-social-conventions-it-may/) Marquis deSade > [Oh lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud! I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/oh-lift-me-as-a-wave-a-leaf-a-cloud-i-fall-upon-the-thorns-of-life-i/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [A life fulfilled with love must have some thorns, but a life empty of love will never have roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldyna-threesya/a-life-fulfilled-with-love-must-have-some-thorns-but-a-life-empty-of/) [Aldyna Threesya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldyna-threesya/) > [Life with love will have thorns but life without love will have no roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-with-love-will-have-thorns-but-life-without-love-will-have-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A life filled with love will surely have some thorns . . . but, a life empty of love will have not one rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/a-life-filled-with-love-will-surely-have-some-thorns-but-a-life-empty/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed !”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/i-fall-upon-the-thorns-of-life-i-bleed/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Sometimes, sometimes it is really difficult to turn and walk away from someone you have loved and cherished for so long. You know deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/sometimes-sometimes-it-is-really-difficult-to-turn-and-walk-away-from/) [David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/) ## More by Marquis de Sade > [What you call disorder is nothing else than one of the laws of the order you comprehend not and which you have erroneously named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-you-call-disorder-is-nothing-else-than-one-of-the-laws-of-the/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [And if I were a naughty little boy, the idea is to spank me into good behavior?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/and-if-i-were-a-naughty-little-boy-the-idea-is-to-spank-me-into-good/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [There is a kind of pleasure which comes from sacrilege or the profanation of the objects offered us for worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/there-is-a-kind-of-pleasure-which-comes-from-sacrilege-or-the/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [“To enlighten mankind and improve its morals is the only lesson which we offer in this story. In reading it, may the world discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/to-enlighten-mankind-and-improve-its-morals-is-the-only-lesson-which/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [What we are doing here is only the image of what we would like to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-we-are-doing-here-is-only-the-image-of-what-we-would-like-to-do/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Happiness lies neither in vice nor in virtue; but in the manner we appreciate the one and the other, and the choice we make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/happiness-lies-neither-in-vice-nor-in-virtue-but-in-the-manner-we/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [What does one want when one is engaged in the sexual act? That everything around you give you its utter attention, think only of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-does-one-want-when-one-is-engaged-in-the-sexual-act-that/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [ The law which attempts a man's life \[capital punishment\] is impractical, unjust, inadmissible. It has never repressed crime--for a second crime is every day… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/the-law-which-attempts-a-man-s-life-capital-punishment-is-impractical/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Between understanding and faith immediate connections must subsist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/between-understanding-and-faith-immediate-connections-must-subsist/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [My passions, concentrated on a single point, resemble the rays of a sun assembled by a magnifying glass: they immediately set fire to whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/my-passions-concentrated-on-a-single-point-resemble-the-rays-of-a-sun/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [The idea of God is the sole wrong for which I cannot forgive mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/the-idea-of-god-is-the-sole-wrong-for-which-i-cannot-forgive-mankind/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Imperious, choleric, irascible, extreme in everything, with a dissolute imagination the like of which has never been seen, atheistic to the point of fanaticism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/imperious-choleric-irascible-extreme-in-everything-with-a-dissolute/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Lust's passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/lust-s-passion-will-be-served-it-demands-it-militates-it-tyrannizes/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [“In order to know virtue, we must acquaint ourselves with vice. Only then can we know the true measure of a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/in-order-to-know-virtue-we-must-acquaint-ourselves-with-vice-only/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Never may an act of possession be exercised upon a free being; the exclusive possession of a woman is no less unjust than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/never-may-an-act-of-possession-be-exercised-upon-a-free-being-the/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) [Explore all 181 Marquis de Sade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is only by sacrificing everything to sensual pleasure that this being known as Man, cast into the world in spite of himself, may succeed in sowing a few roses on the thorns of life.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marquis de Sade" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/it-is-only-by-sacrificing-everything-to-sensual-pleasure-that-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/it-is-only-by-sacrificing-everything-to-sensual-pleasure-that-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/marquis-de-sade-1964_life_it-is-only-by-sacrificing-everything-to_2685813.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/marquis-de-sade-1964_life_it-is-only-by-sacrificing-everything-to_2685813.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/marquis-de-sade-1964_life_it-is-only-by-sacrificing-everything-to_2685813.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is only by sacrificing everything to sensual pleasure that this being known as Man, cast into the world…” — Marquis de Sade", "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": "Marquis de Sade", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is only by sacrificing everything...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/it-is-only-by-sacrificing-everything-to-sensual-pleasure-that-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/it-is-only-by-sacrificing-everything-to-sensual-pleasure-that-this/#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 } } ] } ```