--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whichever way we look the prospect is…" description: "\"Whichever way we look the prospect is disagreeable. Behind, we have left pleasures we shall never enjoy, and therefore regret; and before, we see pleas..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/oliver-goldsmith-772_anticipation_whichever-way-we-look-the-prospect-is-di_3153679.png" --- # Whichever way we look the prospect is disagreeable… ![“Whichever way we look the prospect is disagreeable. Behind, we have left pleasures we shall never enjoy, and therefore regret; and before, we see pleasures which we languish to possess, and are consequently uneasy till we possess them.” quote by Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/oliver-goldsmith-772_anticipation_whichever-way-we-look-the-prospect-is-di_3153679.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/oliver-goldsmith-772_anticipation_whichever-way-we-look-the-prospect-is-di_3153679.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/oliver-goldsmith-772_anticipation_whichever-way-we-look-the-prospect-is-di_3153679.png) > “Whichever way we look the prospect is disagreeable. Behind, we have left pleasures we shall never enjoy, and therefore regret; and before, we see pleasures which we languish to possess, and are consequently uneasy till we possess them.” [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. Human desire for unattainable pleasures leads to regret over lost joys and anxiety over future cravings. **In simple terms:** Wanting what we can't have causes regret and unease. Key Takeaway Balance desire with appreciation of present. Themes desire regret anxiety Mood contemplative philosophical Type literary ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - career ambitions - consumer choices Key Concepts human nature philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What pleasures do you chase? - How can you find contentment now? A Different Perspective Accepting limits may reduce motivation for growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anticipation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anticipation/) [Behinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) [Disagreeable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disagreeable/) [Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy/) [Enjoy Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy-regret-3847792/) [Languish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/languish/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasures Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasures-shall-1148894/) [Prospect Disagreeable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prospect-disagreeable-5671129/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Regret Pleasures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret-pleasures-5671128/) [Uneasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uneasy/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Life is not unlimited , so enjoy it with no regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clevelle/life-is-not-unlimited-so-enjoy-it-with-no-regret/) [Clevelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clevelle/) > [There is not a little generalship and stratagem required in the managing and marshalling of our pleasures, so that each shall not mutually encroach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/there-is-not-a-little-generalship-and-stratagem-required-in-the/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [“Fates, we will know your pleasures: That we shall die, we know; 'tis but the time And drawing days out, that men stand upon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/fates-we-will-know-your-pleasures-that-we-shall-die-we-know-tis-but/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Every time is a time for comedy in a world of tension that would languish without it. But I cannot confine myself to lightness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/every-time-is-a-time-for-comedy-in-a-world-of-tension-that-would/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [For here the religion that languishes in crowded cities or steals shame-faced to hide itself in dim churches, flourishes greatly, filling the soul with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in-crowded-cities-or-steals/) [William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/) > [A successful author is equally in danger of the diminution of his fame, whether he continues or ceases to write. The regard of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-successful-author-is-equally-in-danger-of-the-diminution-of-his/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“In our country they do not permit any information to be X-rayed through and through, nor any discussion to encompass all the facets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-our-country-they-do-not-permit-any-information-to-be-x-rayed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When friends grow cold, and the converse of intimates languishes into vapid civility and commonplace, these only continue the unaltered countenance of happier days,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/when-friends-grow-cold-and-the-converse-of-intimates-languishes-into/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Every gift contains a danger. Whatever gift we have we are compelled to express. And if the expression of that gift is blocked, distorted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/every-gift-contains-a-danger-whatever-gift-we-have-we-are-compelled/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I am like a mariner born and bred on board a buccaneer brig whose soul has become so inured to storm and strife that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/i-am-like-a-mariner-born-and-bred-on-board-a-buccaneer-brig-whose/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [Every desire bears its death in its very gratification. Curiosity languishes under repeated stimulants, and novelties cease to excite and surprise, until at length…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/every-desire-bears-its-death-in-its-very-gratification-curiosity/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Oh, sir, the loftiest hopes on earth Draw lots with meaner hopes: heroic breasts, Breathing bad air, run risk of pestilence; Or, lacking lime-juice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/oh-sir-the-loftiest-hopes-on-earth-draw-lots-with-meaner-hopes-heroic/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [If missions languish, it is because the whole life of godliness is feeble. The command to go everywhere and preach to everybody is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-missions-languish-it-is-because-the-whole-life-of-godliness-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What good does it do me, after all, if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-good-does-it-do-me-after-all-if-an-ever-watchful-authority-keeps/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## 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/) > [To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/to-what-fortuitous-occurrence-do-we-not-owe-every-pleasure-and/) [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/) [Explore all 375 Oliver Goldsmith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) ## More Anticipation quotes > [There is something to be said though when you have 4 or 5 guys playing with no net, there is a sense of urgency,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-mendoza/there-is-something-to-be-said-though-when-you-have-4-or-5-guys/) [Marco Mendoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-mendoza/) > [Long intros are cool because there's a little bit of anticipation, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-lambert/long-intros-are-cool-because-there-s-a-little-bit-of-anticipation-you/) [Miranda Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-lambert/) > [Playing shortstop is 75 to 80 percent anticipation, knowing the hitter and the pitch being thrown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-boudreau/playing-shortstop-is-75-to-80-percent-anticipation-knowing-the-hitter/) [Lou Boudreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-boudreau/) > [Marriages are always moving from one season to another. Sometimes we find ourselves in winter--discouraged, detached, and dissatisfied; other times we experience springtime, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/marriages-are-always-moving-from-one-season-to-another-sometimes-we/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [“O I'm so afraid that it's true about to travel hopefully being better than to arrive. It might be all in the quest, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-brophy/o-i-m-so-afraid-that-it-s-true-about-to-travel-hopefully-being-better/) [Brigid Brophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-brophy/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Science is not a system of certain, or -established, statements; nor is it a system which steadily advances towards a state of finality... And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/science-is-not-a-system-of-certain-or-established-statements-nor-is/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [\[It is hard to know what is good luck and what isn't and therefore whether we should be happy or sad about it. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelig-pliskin/it-is-hard-to-know-what-is-good-luck-and-what-isn-t-and-therefore/) [Zelig Pliskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelig-pliskin/) > [The so called unconscious inferences can be traced back to the all-preserving memory, which presents us with parallel experiences and hence already knows the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-so-called-unconscious-inferences-can-be-traced-back-to-the-all/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [ The only thing is that ordinarily when I do dance with \[women\] they think I am suddenly going to throw them over a table… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kelly/the-only-thing-is-that-ordinarily-when-i-do-dance-with-women-they/) [Gene Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kelly/) > [Many live in dread of what is coming. Why should we? The unknown puts adventure into life. ... The unexpected around the corner gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-stanley-jones/many-live-in-dread-of-what-is-coming-why-should-we-the-unknown-puts/) [E. Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/) > [The pilot who is always dreading a rock or a tempest must not complain if he remain a poor fisherman. We must at times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/the-pilot-who-is-always-dreading-a-rock-or-a-tempest-must-not/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [I am honoured to be asked to take on this role, especially as it comes at such an integral time for our relationship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-boateng/i-am-honoured-to-be-asked-to-take-on-this-role-especially-as-it-comes/) [Paul Boateng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-boateng/) > [“I can handle Evil, but I cannot handle Anticipation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabbo-de-la-parra/i-can-handle-evil-but-i-cannot-handle-anticipation/) [Gabbo De La Parra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabbo-de-la-parra/) > [Hope is itself a species of happiness...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/hope-is-itself-a-species-of-happiness/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Browse all 758 Anticipation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anticipation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whichever way we look the prospect is disagreeable. 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