---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pleasure must succeed to pleasure, else…"
description: "\"Pleasure must succeed to pleasure, else past pleasure turns to pain\" — Robert Browning"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/robert-browning-734_pain_pleasure-must-succeed-to-pleasure-else-p_1491811.png"
---

#  Pleasure must succeed to pleasure, else past pleasure…

![“Pleasure must succeed to pleasure, else past pleasure turns to pain” quote by Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/robert-browning-734_pain_pleasure-must-succeed-to-pleasure-else-p_1491811.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/robert-browning-734_pain_pleasure-must-succeed-to-pleasure-else-p_1491811.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/robert-browning-734_pain_pleasure-must-succeed-to-pleasure-else-p_1491811.png)

> “Pleasure must succeed to pleasure, else past pleasure turns to pain”

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Pleasure should be followed by more pleasure; otherwise it becomes painful.

**In simple terms:** Chasing pleasure leads to pain if not continued.

Key Takeaway

Seek continual joy.

Themes

pleasure pain continuity

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- relationships
- personal growth
- well‑being

Key Concepts

hedonism psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you sustain pleasure healthily?
- What replaces pain when pleasure ends?

A Different Perspective

Pleasure alone may not sustain happiness.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/)

## Related quotes

> [The present joys of life we doubly taste, By looking back with pleasure to the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/the-present-joys-of-life-we-doubly-taste-by-looking-back-with/)

[Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/)

> [To enjoy anything, we cannot be attached to it. What we usually try to do is capture any joy that comes our way before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eknath-easwaran/to-enjoy-anything-we-cannot-be-attached-to-it-what-we-usually-try-to/)

[Eknath Easwaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eknath-easwaran/)

> [Whether I'm writing scripts or prose, the goal is identical. To give pleasure. Now whether I succeed or not is up for debate, and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ames/whether-i-m-writing-scripts-or-prose-the-goal-is-identical-to-give/)

[Jonathan Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ames/)

> [Virtue extends our days: he lives two lives who relives his past with pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/virtue-extends-our-days-he-lives-two-lives-who-relives-his-past-with/)

[Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/)

> [May you look back on the past with as much pleasure as you look forward to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dickson/may-you-look-back-on-the-past-with-as-much-pleasure-as-you-look/)

[Paul Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dickson/)

> [“I hit walls of past pleasure all the time, and for me past pleasure is much harder to process then past pain...for me the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-hit-walls-of-past-pleasure-all-the-time-and-for-me-past-pleasure-is/)

[Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/)

> [“Have you found your life distasteful? My life did and does smack sweet. Was your youth of pleasure wasteful? Mine I save and hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/have-you-found-your-life-distasteful-my-life-did-and-does-smack-sweet/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [Doing nothing gives me great pleasure. And believe me, I succeed wonderfully in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/doing-nothing-gives-me-great-pleasure-and-believe-me-i-succeed/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The best shows succeed because they tap into a national conversation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-lewis/the-best-shows-succeed-because-they-tap-into-a-national-conversation/)

[Damian Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-lewis/)

> [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/)

[Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/)

> [My willingness to fail gives me the ability to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/my-willingness-to-fail-gives-me-the-ability-to-succeed/)

[Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/)

> [The best way to succeed in this world is to act on the advice you give to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-best-way-to-succeed-in-this-world-is-to-act-on-the-advice-you/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wc-fields/if-at-first-you-don-t-succeed-try-try-again-then-quit-no-use-being-a/)

[WC Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wc-fields/)

> [You need to remind people that you vote, you matter, and that they can't succeed without your help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-need-to-remind-people-that-you-vote-you-matter-and-that-they-can/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“If you start and persist you will succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/if-you-start-and-persist-you-will-succeed/)

[Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/)

## More by Robert Browning

> [I would have rummaged, ransacked at the word; Those old odd corners of an empty heart; For remnants of dim love the long disused,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/i-would-have-rummaged-ransacked-at-the-word-those-old-odd-corners-of/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [“One who never turned his back but marched breast forward, never doubted clouds would break, never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/one-who-never-turned-his-back-but-marched-breast-forward-never/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [All service ranks the same with God,- With God, whose puppets, best and worst, Are we: there is no last nor first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/all-service-ranks-the-same-with-god-with-god-whose-puppets-best-and/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [“Have you found your life distasteful? My life did and does smack sweet. Was your youth of pleasure wasteful? Mine I save and hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/have-you-found-your-life-distasteful-my-life-did-and-does-smack-sweet/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [“I was ever a fighter, so---one fight more, The best and the last! I would hate that death bandaged my eyes and forbore, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/i-was-ever-a-fighter-so-one-fight-more-the-best-and-the-last-i-would/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [But how carve way i' the life that lies before, If bent on groaning ever for the past?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/but-how-carve-way-i-the-life-that-lies-before-if-bent-on-groaning/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [If you get simple beauty and naught else, you get about the best thing God invents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/if-you-get-simple-beauty-and-naught-else-you-get-about-the-best-thing/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [How good is man's life, the mere living! How fit to employ all the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/how-good-is-man-s-life-the-mere-living-how-fit-to-employ-all-the/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [Oh, to be in England Now that April's there, And whoever wakes in England Sees, some morning, unaware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/oh-to-be-in-england-now-that-april-s-there-and-whoever-wakes-in/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [The ultimate, angels' law, Indulging every instinct of the soul There where law, life, joy, impulse are one thing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/the-ultimate-angels-law-indulging-every-instinct-of-the-soul-there/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/grow-old-along-with-me-the-best-is-yet-to-be-the-last-of-life-for/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over, lest you should think he never could recapture the first fine careless rapture!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/that-s-the-wise-thrush-he-sings-each-song-twice-over-lest-you-should/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [Look not down but up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/look-not-down-but-up/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [What a thing friendship is - World without end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/what-a-thing-friendship-is-world-without-end/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [Silence 'tis awe decrees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/silence-tis-awe-decrees/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

[Explore all 386 Robert Browning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

## More Pain quotes

> [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/)

[Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/)

> [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/)

[Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/)

> [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/)

[Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/)

> [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I want people to hear my lyrics and my melodies and say, 'That dude's in pain.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-moody/i-want-people-to-hear-my-lyrics-and-my-melodies-and-say-that-dude-s/)

[Ivan Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-moody/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [It hurts wanting the best for someone you love, even if they feel the best isn't you. That's real love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-hurts-wanting-the-best-for-someone-you-love-even-if-they-feel-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Tryna hide this pain with these pain killers, she said the storms only will last a little while but shit it got me feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myself/tryna-hide-this-pain-with-these-pain-killers-she-said-the-storms-only/)

Myself

> [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/)

[Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/)

> [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/)

[Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/)

> [“What is there, in the mention of Time To Come, that is so quick to wrench at the heart, to inflict a pain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-llewellyn/what-is-there-in-the-mention-of-time-to-come-that-is-so-quick-to/)

[Richard Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-llewellyn/)

> [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/)

[Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/)

> [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/)

Kirsten Gilchrist

> [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/)

[Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/)

[Browse all 17,919 Pain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Pleasure must succeed to pleasure, else past pleasure turns to pain",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Browning"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/pleasure-must-succeed-to-pleasure-else-past-pleasure-turns-to-pain/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Pain"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/pleasure-must-succeed-to-pleasure-else-past-pleasure-turns-to-pain/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/robert-browning-734_pain_pleasure-must-succeed-to-pleasure-else-p_1491811.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/robert-browning-734_pain_pleasure-must-succeed-to-pleasure-else-p_1491811.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/robert-browning-734_pain_pleasure-must-succeed-to-pleasure-else-p_1491811.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Pleasure must succeed to pleasure, else past pleasure turns to pain” — Robert Browning",
                "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": "Robert Browning",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Pleasure must succeed to pleasure, else...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/pleasure-must-succeed-to-pleasure-else-past-pleasure-turns-to-pain/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/pleasure-must-succeed-to-pleasure-else-past-pleasure-turns-to-pain/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
