--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should tell ourselves once and for all…" description: "\"We should tell ourselves once and for all that it is the first duty of the soul to become as happy, complete, independent, and great as lies in its pow..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a48/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_duty_we-should-tell-ourselves-once-and-for-al_1845090.jpg" --- # We should tell ourselves once and for all that it is the… ![“We should tell ourselves once and for all that it is the first duty of the soul to become as happy, complete, independent, and great as lies in its power. To this end we may sacrifice even the passion for sacrifice, for sacrifice never should be the means of ennoblement, but only the sign of being…” quote by Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a48/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_duty_we-should-tell-ourselves-once-and-for-al_1845090.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a48/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_duty_we-should-tell-ourselves-once-and-for-al_1845090.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a48/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_duty_we-should-tell-ourselves-once-and-for-al_1845090.jpg) > “We should tell ourselves once and for all that it is the first duty of the soul to become as happy, complete, independent, and great as lies in its power. To this end we may sacrifice even the passion for sacrifice, for sacrifice never should be the means of ennoblement, but only the sign of being ennobled.” [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The soul's primary duty is to achieve happiness, completeness, independence, and greatness within its capacity, not through sacrifice but through being ennobled. **In simple terms:** Seek happiness and greatness on your own terms. Key Takeaway Pursue inner fulfillment, not external validation. Themes self‑realization autonomy ethical growth Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal development - spiritual practice - leadership - creative work Key Concepts existentialism human potential Questions to Reflect On - What does true independence look like for you? - How can you measure greatness without external praise? A Different Perspective Sacrifice can still be necessary for growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) ## Related quotes > [What is love? Love is sacrifice, giving your everything, your sanity, your time, and most importantly you heart for that person. But in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-love-love-is-sacrifice-giving-your-everything-your-sanity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Life's lessons. There is no passion without sacrifice, no happiness without suffering, no success without failure, and no love without pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisy-gallagher/life-s-lessons-there-is-no-passion-without-sacrifice-no-happiness/) Daisy Gallagher > [It may be very difficult to keep the virtues of purity, passion, and sacrifice of love in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-min-ho/it-may-be-very-difficult-to-keep-the-virtues-of-purity-passion-and/) [Lee Min-ho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-min-ho/) > [“I only wanted to suggest to you that self-sacrifice is a passion so overwhelming that beside it even lust and hunger are trifling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-only-wanted-to-suggest-to-you-that-self-sacrifice-is-a-passion-so/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“Sacrifice is a passion that unleashes everything away from us so that it can be drawn into everyone around us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/sacrifice-is-a-passion-that-unleashes-everything-away-from-us-so-that/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [We cannot resist the fascination of sacrifice, since a passion for sacrifices is part of a Chessplayer's nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-spielmann/we-cannot-resist-the-fascination-of-sacrifice-since-a-passion-for/) Rudolf Spielmann > [“... self-sacrifice is a passion so overwhelming that beside it even lust and hunger are trifling. It whirls its victim to destruction in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/self-sacrifice-is-a-passion-so-overwhelming-that-beside-it-even-lust/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Sacrifice, which is the passion of great souls, has never been the law of societies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/sacrifice-which-is-the-passion-of-great-souls-has-never-been-the-law/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Love is a many-sided sacrifice; it means thoughtfulness for others; it means putting their good before self-gratification. Love is impulse, no doubt, but true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-reginald-haweis/love-is-a-many-sided-sacrifice-it-means-thoughtfulness-for-others-it/) [Hugh Reginald Haweis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-reginald-haweis/) > [As we give, so shall we receive. Service does not mean self-sacrifice. It means giving the needs of another person the same priority as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/as-we-give-so-shall-we-receive-service-does-not-mean-self-sacrifice/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Loving someone is willing to sacrifice even when it means let them go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-molebatsi/loving-someone-is-willing-to-sacrifice-even-when-it-means-let-them-go/) [Justin Molebatsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-molebatsi/) > [“...In its original Latin form, sacrifice means to make sacred or to make holy. I wholeheartedly believe that when we are fully engaged in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/in-its-original-latin-form-sacrifice-means-to-make-sacred-or-to-make/) [Brene Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“To refuse to sacrifice may in fact be the greatest sacrifice. For refusing to sacrifice means that I willfully throw away some of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-refuse-to-sacrifice-may-in-fact-be-the-greatest-sacrifice-for/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [In the lexicon of the political class, the word 'sacrifice' means that the citizens are supposed to mail even more of their income to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/in-the-lexicon-of-the-political-class-the-word-sacrifice-means-that/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [“Think of all the males and females of the animal and plant world, all the opposites in every aspect of life. They all need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-moore/think-of-all-the-males-and-females-of-the-animal-and-plant-world-all/) [Thomas Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-moore/) ## More by Maurice Maeterlinck > [Happiness is rarely absent; it is we that know not of its presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/happiness-is-rarely-absent-it-is-we-that-know-not-of-its-presence/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [He who sees without loving is only straining his eyes in the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/he-who-sees-without-loving-is-only-straining-his-eyes-in-the-darkness/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [We are never the same with others as when we are alone. We are different, even when we are in the dark with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/we-are-never-the-same-with-others-as-when-we-are-alone-we-are/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [The living are just the dead on holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/the-living-are-just-the-dead-on-holiday/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“I believe that poems die the moment they are outwardly expressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/i-believe-that-poems-die-the-moment-they-are-outwardly-expressed/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Should we not invariably act in this life as though the God whom our heart desires with its highest desire were watching our every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/should-we-not-invariably-act-in-this-life-as-though-the-god-whom-our/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/at-every-crossway-on-the-road-that-leads-to-the-future-each/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Our lives must be spent seeking our God, for God hides; but His artifices, once they be known, seem so simple and smiling! From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/our-lives-must-be-spent-seeking-our-god-for-god-hides-but-his/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“The angels that dry our eyes bear the form and the features of all we have said and thought—above all, of what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/the-angels-that-dry-our-eyes-bear-the-form-and-the-features-of-all-we/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [What man is there that does not laboriously, though all unconsciously, himself fashion the sorrow that is to be the pivot of his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/what-man-is-there-that-does-not-laboriously-though-all-unconsciously/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“For it is our most secret desire that governs and dominates all. If your eyes look for nothing but evil, you will always see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/for-it-is-our-most-secret-desire-that-governs-and-dominates-all-if/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [It is not from reason that justice springs, but goodness is born of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/it-is-not-from-reason-that-justice-springs-but-goodness-is-born-of/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [To disdain today is to prove that yesterday has been misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yesterday-has-been-misunderstood/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future, tradition has placed 10,000 men to guard the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/at-every-crossroads-on-the-path-that-leads-to-the-future-tradition/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Niemand is waarlijk mijn vriend, voordat we geleerd hebben in elkanders tegenwoordigheid te zwijgen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/niemand-is-waarlijk-mijn-vriend-voordat-we-geleerd-hebben-in/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) [Explore all 114 Maurice Maeterlinck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) ## More Duty quotes > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Few political debates have been as divisive as the European one. I fought as hard as I could on the Remain side, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/few-political-debates-have-been-as-divisive-as-the-european-one-i/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Is that what they teach you at the convent? That the gods demand the hearts from our bodies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lafevers/is-that-what-they-teach-you-at-the-convent-that-the-gods-demand-the/) [Robin LaFevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lafevers/) > [The less we show our love to a woman, Or please her less, and neglect our duty, The more we trap and ruin her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/the-less-we-show-our-love-to-a-woman-or-please-her-less-and-neglect/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“You have a right to be sad, and a duty to move on. Only wins who wipes the tears, gather strength and move forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-branco/you-have-a-right-to-be-sad-and-a-duty-to-move-on-only-wins-who-wipes/) [Augusto Branco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-branco/) > [Our duty as Christians is always to keep heaven in our eye and earth under our feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/our-duty-as-christians-is-always-to-keep-heaven-in-our-eye-and-earth/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Regardless of how you feel about war and peace those serving military are doing a duty for the rest of us and they're protecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-cardellini/regardless-of-how-you-feel-about-war-and-peace-those-serving-military/) [Linda Cardellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-cardellini/) > [“Duty is a done deal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/duty-is-a-done-deal/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Politics...You see, it depends on what kind of politics. What we did during my father's generation was a duty. And it was beautiful because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/politics-you-see-it-depends-on-what-kind-of-politics-what-we-did/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [I do not so much rejoice that God hath made me to be a Queen, as to be a Queen over so thankful a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/i-do-not-so-much-rejoice-that-god-hath-made-me-to-be-a-queen-as-to-be/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [The whole duty of man is summed up in obedience to God's will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-whole-duty-of-man-is-summed-up-in-obedience-to-god-s-will/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) [Browse all 5,178 Duty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We should tell ourselves once and for all that it is the first duty of the soul to become as happy, complete, independent, and great as lies in its power. 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