--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But nothing is permanent in this world…" description: "\"“But nothing is permanent in this world. Joy in the second moment of its arrival is already less keen than in the first, is still fainter in the third,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/nikolai-gogol-2690_joy_but-nothing-is-permanent-in-this-world-j_1070325.jpg" --- # But nothing is permanent in this world. Joy in the second… ![“But nothing is permanent in this world. Joy in the second moment of its arrival is already less keen than in the first, is still fainter in the third, and finishes by coalescing with our normal mental state, just as the circles which the fall of a pebble forms on the surface of water, gradually…” quote by Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/nikolai-gogol-2690_joy_but-nothing-is-permanent-in-this-world-j_1070325.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/nikolai-gogol-2690_joy_but-nothing-is-permanent-in-this-world-j_1070325.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/nikolai-gogol-2690_joy_but-nothing-is-permanent-in-this-world-j_1070325.jpg) > ““But nothing is permanent in this world. Joy in the second moment of its arrival is already less keen than in the first, is still fainter in the third, and finishes by coalescing with our normal mental state, just as the circles which the fall of a pebble forms on the surface of water, gradually die away.”” [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All experiences, including joy, fade over time, becoming less intense as they repeat and settle into normalcy. **In simple terms:** Joy diminishes with each repetition. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence, cherish moments fully. Themes impermanence joy human experience Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical literary inspirational When to use this quote - celebrating milestones - mindful appreciation - grief counseling - creative inspiration Key Concepts ephemerality psychology temporal decay Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain appreciation as joy fades? - Can you find value beyond the initial thrill? A Different Perspective Joy may be fleeting, but meaning can persist beyond feeling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Mental state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-state/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Nothing is permanent in this world. Everything is changing, so no matter what problem or issue you are having in your life at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subodh-gupta/nothing-is-permanent-in-this-world-everything-is-changing-so-no/) [Subodh Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subodh-gupta/) > [I was confident that I was a special person. But time slowly chips away at life. People don't just die when their time comes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-was-confident-that-i-was-a-special-person-but-time-slowly-chips/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [What is missed can't be made up, because the second moment isn't the first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anas/what-is-missed-can-t-be-made-up-because-the-second-moment-isn-t-the/) [Anas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anas/) > [I was confident that I was a special person. But time slowly chips away at life. People don't just die when their time comes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-confident-that-i-was-a-special-person-but-time-slowly-chips-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We're reborn every second, every moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/we-re-reborn-every-second-every-moment/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Abuse if you slight it, will gradually die away; but if you show yourself irritated, you will be thought to have deserved it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/abuse-if-you-slight-it-will-gradually-die-away-but-if-you-show/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [“People don't just die when their time comes. They gradually die away, from the inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/people-don-t-just-die-when-their-time-comes-they-gradually-die-away/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Forget about what you used to do. Don't make those same mistakes again. Everybody says, "Oh the good old days" - the good old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/forget-about-what-you-used-to-do-don-t-make-those-same-mistakes-again/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [“I don’t regret a second. Not one moment of everything we’ve been through. We found one another.” …“Thank you for being my brothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-zanetti/i-don-t-regret-a-second-not-one-moment-of-everything-we-ve-been/) [Rebecca Zanetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-zanetti/) > [There is no permanent in this world. In your consciousness, maybe tomorrow we rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/there-is-no-permanent-in-this-world-in-your-consciousness-maybe/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [Nothing is permanent in this world; not even our troubles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-is-permanent-in-this-world-not-even-our-troubles/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nothing is permanent in this world not even our thoubles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-villaflor-amante/nothing-is-permanent-in-this-world-not-even-our-thoubles/) [Michelle Villaflor Amante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-villaflor-amante/) > [There is nothing permanent in the world except change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/there-is-nothing-permanent-in-the-world-except-change/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [Life needs a constant change, minds needs the constant change, only thing that is permanent in the world is change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-needs-a-constant-change-minds-needs-the-constant-change-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Because there is actually something very interesting in Goodfellas, how the style of the film changes as time goes by and based on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cox/because-there-is-actually-something-very-interesting-in-goodfellas/) [Alex Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cox/) ## More by Nikolai Gogol > [it's not my job to preach a sermon. Art is anyhow a homily. My job is to speak in living images, not in arguments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/it-s-not-my-job-to-preach-a-sermon-art-is-anyhow-a-homily-my-job-is/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [“What a strange creature man is! He does not believe in God, but he does believe that if the bridge of is nose itches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/what-a-strange-creature-man-is-he-does-not-believe-in-god-but-he-does/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [“Our century is so shallow, its desires scattered so widely, our knowledge so encyclopedic, that we are absolutely unable to focus our designs on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/our-century-is-so-shallow-its-desires-scattered-so-widely-our/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [I ask everyone in Russia to pray for me, beginning with the bishops, whose whole life is a single prayer. I ask prayers also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/i-ask-everyone-in-russia-to-pray-for-me-beginning-with-the-bishops/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [Go along, go along quickly, and set all you have on the table for us. We don't want doughnuts, honey buns, poppy cakes, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/go-along-go-along-quickly-and-set-all-you-have-on-the-table-for-us-we/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [Like all of us sinners, General Betrishchev was endowed with many virtues and many defects. Both the one and the other were scattered through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/like-all-of-us-sinners-general-betrishchev-was-endowed-with-many/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [“It seemed that both had lately had a touch of that pain under the waistband which comes of a sedentary life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/it-seemed-that-both-had-lately-had-a-touch-of-that-pain-under-the/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [...how much savage coarseness is concealed in refined, cultivated manners...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/how-much-savage-coarseness-is-concealed-in-refined-cultivated-manners/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [Russia! Russia... Everything in you is open, desolate and level; your squat towns barely protrude in the midst of the plains like dots, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/russia-russia-everything-in-you-is-open-desolate-and-level-your-squat/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [We have the marvelous gift of making everything insignificant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/we-have-the-marvelous-gift-of-making-everything-insignificant/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [“The fair-haired man was one of those people in whose character there is at first sight a certain obstinacy. Before you can open your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-people-in-whose-character-there/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [“Well, so that's the prosecutor! He lived and lived, and then died! And they will say in the papers that he died to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/well-so-that-s-the-prosecutor-he-lived-and-lived-and-then-died-and/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [For public opinion does not admit that lofty rapturous laughter is worthy to stand beside lofty lyrical emotion and that there isall the difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/for-public-opinion-does-not-admit-that-lofty-rapturous-laughter-is/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [“in his mind, nothing could be more delightful than to live in solitude, and enjoy the spectacle of nature, and sometimes read some book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/in-his-mind-nothing-could-be-more-delightful-than-to-live-in-solitude/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [It is no use to blame the looking glass if your face is awry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/it-is-no-use-to-blame-the-looking-glass-if-your-face-is-awry/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) [Explore all 125 Nikolai Gogol quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) ## More Joy quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“When you finally realize your gifts and talents, joy and satisfaction come as you walk in your purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanya-richards-ross/when-you-finally-realize-your-gifts-and-talents-joy-and-satisfaction/) [Sanya Richards-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanya-richards-ross/) > [When I first started, my message was about joy, but I didn't really have the vocabulary and life experience to fully deliver it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/when-i-first-started-my-message-was-about-joy-but-i-didn-t-really/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Of everything I have done, 'The Archers' always gets the most excitement; there's a sort of uncontrollable joy from fans of the program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/of-everything-i-have-done-the-archers-always-gets-the-most-excitement/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [Safin, in his way, is very talented. It is a joy to watch them play; it is tennis of a very high quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-krajicek/safin-in-his-way-is-very-talented-it-is-a-joy-to-watch-them-play-it/) [Richard Krajicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-krajicek/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [“Start the daily practice of joyful living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/start-the-daily-practice-of-joyful-living/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have touched with a sense of art some people-they felt the love and the life. Can you offer me anything to compare to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cassatt/i-have-touched-with-a-sense-of-art-some-people-they-felt-the-love-and/) [Mary Cassatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cassatt/) > [“Reverend Veronica Goines sums this up as, “Peace is joy at rest, and joy is peace on its feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/reverend-veronica-goines-sums-this-up-as-peace-is-joy-at-rest-and-joy/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Be in a state of gratitude for everything that shows up in your life. Be thankful for the storms as well as the smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/be-in-a-state-of-gratitude-for-everything-that-shows-up-in-your-life/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. Joy is of the essence of life;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnivesh/spiritually-life-is-a-festival-a-celebration-joy-is-of-the-essence-of/) [Agnivesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnivesh/) [Browse all 15,003 Joy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But nothing is permanent in this world. 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