--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To what fortuitous occurrence do we not…" description: "\"To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.\" — Oliver Goldsmith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/oliver-goldsmith-772_convenience_to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not_72402.png" --- # To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure… ![“To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.” quote by Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/oliver-goldsmith-772_convenience_to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not_72402.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/oliver-goldsmith-772_convenience_to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not_72402.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/oliver-goldsmith-772_convenience_to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not_72402.png) > “To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.” [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that many of life's comforts stem from unexpected, fortunate events that shape our existence. **In simple terms:** Unexpected events create life's comforts. Key Takeaway Chance underlies daily conveniences. Themes serendipity cause and effect gratitude human experience fortune Mood reflective appreciative thoughtful Type aphor philosophical When to use this quote - reflecting on personal blessings - discussing innovation origins - teaching gratitude - analyzing societal development - evaluating risk Key Concepts probability social progress technology history Practical Applications - philosophical essays - motivational speeches Questions to Reflect On - What unnoticed events have shaped your life? - How does recognizing luck affect gratitude? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Convenience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convenience/) [Convenience Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convenience-lives-946759/) [Fortuitous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortuitous/) [Fortuitous Occurrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortuitous-occurrence-946757/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Owe Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owe-pleasure-946760/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasure Convenience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-convenience-946758/) ## Related quotes > [The bourgeois prefers comfort to pleasure, convenience to liberty, and a pleasant temperature to the deathly inner consuming fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-bourgeois-prefers-comfort-to-pleasure-convenience-to-liberty-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [To what do I owe the pleasure?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus/to-what-do-i-owe-the-pleasure/) [Magnus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus/) > [“Our day-to-day life is bombarded with fortuities or, to be more precise, with the accidental meetings of people and events we call coincidences (...)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/our-day-to-day-life-is-bombarded-with-fortuities-or-to-be-more/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [ It was very fortuitous that the show \[True Detective\] actually spans seventeen years - so as I was getting older on the show, I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-monaghan/it-was-very-fortuitous-that-the-show-true-detective-actually-spans/) [Michelle Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-monaghan/) > [However much we talk of the inexorable laws governing the life of individuals and of societies, we remain at the bottom convinced that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/however-much-we-talk-of-the-inexorable-laws-governing-the-life-of/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Painting embraces and contains within itself all the things which nature produces or which results from the fortuitous actions of men... he is but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/painting-embraces-and-contains-within-itself-all-the-things-which/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [A wonder then it must needs be,-that there should be any Man found so stupid and forsaken of reason as to persuade himself, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ray/a-wonder-then-it-must-needs-be-that-there-should-be-any-man-found-so/) [John Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ray/) > [We are the product of 4.5 billion years of fortuitous, slow biological evolution. There is no reason to think that the evolutionary process has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-are-the-product-of-4-5-billion-years-of-fortuitous-slow-biological/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Western civilization, because of fortuitous historical circumstances, has spread itself more widely than any other local group that has so far been known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/western-civilization-because-of-fortuitous-historical-circumstances/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [When we contemplate the world of Epicurus, and conceive the universe to be a fortuitous jumble of atoms, there is nothing grand in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/when-we-contemplate-the-world-of-epicurus-and-conceive-the-universe/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [It's good to keep in mind that prominence is always a mix of hard work, eloquence in your practice, good timing and fortuitous social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/it-s-good-to-keep-in-mind-that-prominence-is-always-a-mix-of-hard/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I didn't start acting until I was 27, and that was just through Gary Shandling and Ben Stiller who I knew through stand-up. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/i-didn-t-start-acting-until-i-was-27-and-that-was-just-through-gary/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [Timing in my life has been fortuitous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-buck/timing-in-my-life-has-been-fortuitous/) [Joe Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-buck/) > [Mathematics transfigures the fortuitous concourse of atoms into the tracery of the finger of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-turnbull/mathematics-transfigures-the-fortuitous-concourse-of-atoms-into-the/) [Herbert Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-turnbull/) > [I went from an unemployed actor's life to doing stand-up comedy, and that was fortuitous. It's not the usual way the crow flies, going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-tate/i-went-from-an-unemployed-actor-s-life-to-doing-stand-up-comedy-and/) [Catherine Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-tate/) ## More by Oliver Goldsmith > [The fortunate circumstances of our lives are generally found, at last, to be of our own producing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-fortunate-circumstances-of-our-lives-are-generally-found-at-last/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [How happy he who crowns in shades like these, A youth of labour with an age of ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/how-happy-he-who-crowns-in-shades-like-these-a-youth-of-labour-with/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [One man is born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and the other with a wooden ladle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/one-man-is-born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth-and-the-other-with-a/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [He cast off his friends as a huntsman his pack, For he knew when he pleas'd he could whistle them back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/he-cast-off-his-friends-as-a-huntsman-his-pack-for-he-knew-when-he/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Even children follow'd with endearing wile, And pluck'd his gown, to share the good man's smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/even-children-follow-d-with-endearing-wile-and-pluck-d-his-gown-to/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [The premises being thus settled, I proceed to observe that the concatenation of self-existence, proceeding in a reciprocal duplicate ratio, naturally produces a problematical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-premises-being-thus-settled-i-proceed-to-observe-that-the/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway, and fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/truth-from-his-lips-prevailed-with-double-sway-and-fools-who-came-to/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Politics resemble religion; attempting to divest either of ceremony is the most certain mode of bringing either into contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/politics-resemble-religion-attempting-to-divest-either-of-ceremony-is/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Every acknowledgment of gratitude is a circumstance of humiliation; and some are found to submit to frequent mortifications of this kind, proclaiming what obligations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/every-acknowledgment-of-gratitude-is-a-circumstance-of-humiliation/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [ \[T\]here are depths of thousands of miles which are hidden from our inquiry. The only tidings we have from those unfathomable regions are by… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/t-here-are-depths-of-thousands-of-miles-which-are-hidden-from-our/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Like the bee, we should make our industry our amusement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/like-the-bee-we-should-make-our-industry-our-amusement/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Age, that lessens the enjoyment of life, increases our desire of living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/age-that-lessens-the-enjoyment-of-life-increases-our-desire-of-living/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Thus let me hold thee to my heart, And every care resign: And we shall never, never part, My life-my all that's mine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/thus-let-me-hold-thee-to-my-heart-and-every-care-resign-and-we-shall/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Here lies David Garrick, describe me who can, An abridgment of all that was pleasant in man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/here-lies-david-garrick-describe-me-who-can-an-abridgment-of-all-that/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Wealth accumulates, and men decay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/wealth-accumulates-and-men-decay/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) [Explore all 375 Oliver Goldsmith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) ## More Convenience quotes > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Is the minor convenience of allowing the present generation the luxury of doubling its energy consumption every 10 years worth the major hazard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/is-the-minor-convenience-of-allowing-the-present-generation-the/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [“A phone call should be a convenience to the caller, not an inconvenience to the called.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-phone-call-should-be-a-convenience-to-the-caller-not-an/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The average family exists only on paper and its average budget is a fiction, invented by statisticians for the convenience of statisticians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-porter/the-average-family-exists-only-on-paper-and-its-average-budget-is-a/) [Sylvia Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-porter/) > [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 what is the state but a servant and a convenience for a large number of people, just like the electric light and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/and-what-is-the-state-but-a-servant-and-a-convenience-for-a-large/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Thirty or forty proprietors, with incomes answering to between one thousand and five thousand a year, would create a much more effectual demand for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/thirty-or-forty-proprietors-with-incomes-answering-to-between-one/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [If you spot a market where the only choices are at either one end or the other - high fidelity or high convenience -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/if-you-spot-a-market-where-the-only-choices-are-at-either-one-end-or/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [Unfortunately, nature seems unaware of our intellectual need for convenience and unity, and very often takes delight in complication and diversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/unfortunately-nature-seems-unaware-of-our-intellectual-need-for/) [Santiago Ramon y Cajal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/) > [What more degrades woman today than that she so often seeks marriage as a support? Why is the holy sacrament of love, the sanctity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-c-ames/what-more-degrades-woman-today-than-that-she-so-often-seeks-marriage/) [Mary C. Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-c-ames/) > [ \[Books\] will visit you at your convenience, whether you are lonesome or not, on rainy days or fair. They propose themselves as either transient… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/books-will-visit-you-at-your-convenience-whether-you-are-lonesome-or/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [What is undeniable is that when comforts and convenience sap our energies and idealism, inactivity secretes sloth in to our minds like a poison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/what-is-undeniable-is-that-when-comforts-and-convenience-sap-our/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [It's a double-headed coin, because technology is a convenience but it's stifled our attention spans. At one time, albums had songs that were like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cee-lo-green/it-s-a-double-headed-coin-because-technology-is-a-convenience-but-it/) [Cee Lo Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cee-lo-green/) > [While the business of education in Europe consists in lectures upon the ruins of Palmyra and the antiquities of Herculaneum , or in disputes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/while-the-business-of-education-in-europe-consists-in-lectures-upon/) [Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/) [Browse all 451 Convenience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convenience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oliver Goldsmith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not-owe-every-pleasure-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Convenience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not-owe-every-pleasure-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/oliver-goldsmith-772_convenience_to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not_72402.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/oliver-goldsmith-772_convenience_to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not_72402.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/oliver-goldsmith-772_convenience_to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not_72402.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.” — Oliver Goldsmith", "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": "Oliver Goldsmith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To what fortuitous occurrence do we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not-owe-every-pleasure-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not-owe-every-pleasure-and/#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 } } ] } ```