--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Virtue can procure only an imaginary…" description: "\"Virtue can procure only an imaginary happiness; true felicity lies only in the senses, and virtue gratifies none of them.\" — Marquis de Sade" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c0/marquis-de-sade-1964_character_virtue-can-procure-only-an-imaginary-hap_2662148.jpg" --- # Virtue can procure only an imaginary happiness; true… ![“Virtue can procure only an imaginary happiness; true felicity lies only in the senses, and virtue gratifies none of them.” quote by Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c0/marquis-de-sade-1964_character_virtue-can-procure-only-an-imaginary-hap_2662148.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c0/marquis-de-sade-1964_character_virtue-can-procure-only-an-imaginary-hap_2662148.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c0/marquis-de-sade-1964_character_virtue-can-procure-only-an-imaginary-hap_2662148.jpg) > “Virtue can procure only an imaginary happiness; true felicity lies only in the senses, and virtue gratifies none of them.” [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. Virtue alone cannot bring true happiness; genuine fulfillment comes from sensory experiences, which virtue does not satisfy. **In simple terms:** Virtue doesn't guarantee happiness; senses do. Key Takeaway Seek pleasure through the senses rather than abstract virtue. Themes virtue happiness sensory materialism philosophy Mood provocative skeptical Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - culinary arts - art appreciation - physical health - travel adventures Key Concepts hedonism ethical relativism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - Is sensory pleasure sufficient for a good life? - Can virtue and pleasure coexist harmoniously? A Different Perspective Neglecting moral considerations can lead to excess. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [True happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-happiness/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [True happiness lies in the senses, and virtue gratifies none of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/true-happiness-lies-in-the-senses-and-virtue-gratifies-none-of-them/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [The past is dead; The future is imaginary; Happiness can only be in the Eternal Now Moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary-happiness-can-only-be-in-the/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [The world consists of imaginary people, claiming imaginary virtues and suffering from imaginary happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-world-consists-of-imaginary-people-claiming-imaginary-virtues-and/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [“Gaiety can be found in making others happy. The true felicity is an inner quality. A state and peace of mind!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/gaiety-can-be-found-in-making-others-happy-the-true-felicity-is-an/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [The true felicity of life is to be free from anxieties and pertubations; to understand and do our duties to God and man, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-true-felicity-of-life-is-to-be-free-from-anxieties-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [True felicity consists of its own consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-rivarol/true-felicity-consists-of-its-own-consciousness/) [Antoine Rivarol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-rivarol/) > [Every human always wants more. We're never satisfied. 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I don’t care who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-king/i-only-hope-that-for-right-now-you-remember-that-there-is-no-place/) [A.s. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-king/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) ## 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. 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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 Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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