--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Happiness, eternal or temporal, is not…" description: "\"Happiness, eternal or temporal, is not the reward that mankind seeks, Happinesses are but his wayside companions. His soul is in the journey and in the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/robert-louis-stevenson-289_companion_happiness-eternal-or-temporal-is-not-the_2928387.jpg" --- # Happiness, eternal or temporal, is not the reward that… ![“Happiness, eternal or temporal, is not the reward that mankind seeks, Happinesses are but his wayside companions. His soul is in the journey and in the struggle.” quote by Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/robert-louis-stevenson-289_companion_happiness-eternal-or-temporal-is-not-the_2928387.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/robert-louis-stevenson-289_companion_happiness-eternal-or-temporal-is-not-the_2928387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/robert-louis-stevenson-289_companion_happiness-eternal-or-temporal-is-not-the_2928387.jpg) > “Happiness, eternal or temporal, is not the reward that mankind seeks, Happinesses are but his wayside companions. His soul is in the journey and in the struggle.” [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness is a companion, not the goal; the journey and struggle define the soul. **In simple terms:** Happiness accompanies the journey. Key Takeaway Value the process. Themes happiness journey struggle Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - personal growth - adversity - creative work Key Concepts existentialism meaning Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning? - How do you embrace struggle? A Different Perspective Pursuing happiness alone can be hollow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Great inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-inspirational/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [The past is dead; The future is imaginary; Happiness can only be in the Eternal Now Moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/the-past-is-dead-the-future-is-imaginary-happiness-can-only-be-in-the/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [In default of inexhaustible happiness, eternal suffering would at least give us a destiny. But we do not even have that consolation, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/in-default-of-inexhaustible-happiness-eternal-suffering-would-at/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [In reality, the happiness which is to be found in eternal life and in the love of God starts right away, from the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meicee/in-reality-the-happiness-which-is-to-be-found-in-eternal-life-and-in/) Meicee > [“Believing happiness to be in the eternal thing is called the enlightened vision (samkit).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/believing-happiness-to-be-in-the-eternal-thing-is-called-the/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“Everyone tries to make his life a work of art. We want love to last and we know that it does not last; even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/everyone-tries-to-make-his-life-a-work-of-art-we-want-love-to-last/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Now that I have made peace with the imperfections, I no longer look around for happiness. I found the eternal happiness that has always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arcilia-mankoai-mothae/now-that-i-have-made-peace-with-the-imperfections-i-no-longer-look/) Arcilia Mankoai Mothae > [Sweet are the thoughts that savor of content: the quiet mind is richer than a crown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/sweet-are-the-thoughts-that-savor-of-content-the-quiet-mind-is-richer/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [It is not enough merely possess virtue, as if it were an art; it should be practiced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/it-is-not-enough-merely-possess-virtue-as-if-it-were-an-art-it-should/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Start where you are, use what you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-ashe/start-where-you-are-use-what-you-have/) [Arthur Ashe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-ashe/) > [To be hopeful in bad times is based on the fact that human history is not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/to-be-hopeful-in-bad-times-is-based-on-the-fact-that-human-history-is/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Small beginnings are the launching pad to great endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/small-beginnings-are-the-launching-pad-to-great-endings/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Poetry is emotion recollected in tranquillity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/poetry-is-emotion-recollected-in-tranquillity/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Greatness is not born from one success. Greatness is born from persevering through the countless failed attempts that preceded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/greatness-is-not-born-from-one-success-greatness-is-born-from/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [I think it's great that you have inspirational female roles, that it's not just the pretty girl on the arm of a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-john-kamen/i-think-it-s-great-that-you-have-inspirational-female-roles-that-it-s/) [Hannah John-Kamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-john-kamen/) > [If you think you can't, you're right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bartz/if-you-think-you-can-t-you-re-right/) [Carol Bartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bartz/) ## More by Robert Louis Stevenson > [You must suffer me to go my own dark way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-must-suffer-me-to-go-my-own-dark-way/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Nobody speaks of a beautifful view for 5 minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/nobody-speaks-of-a-beautifful-view-for-5-minutes/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find is an honest friend. He is a fortunate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/we-are-all-travelers-in-the-wilderness-of-this-world-and-the-best/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The little rift between the sexes is astonishingly widened by simply teaching one set of catchwords to the girls and another to the boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-little-rift-between-the-sexes-is-astonishingly-widened-by-simply/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The problem of education is twofold: first to know, and then to utter. Everyone who lives any semblance of an inner life thinks more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-problem-of-education-is-twofold-first-to-know-and-then-to-utter/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“For thirty years," he said, "I've sailed the seas and seen good and bad, better and worse, fair weather and foul, provisions running out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/for-thirty-years-he-said-i-ve-sailed-the-seas-and-seen-good-and-bad/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/mutiny-it-was-plain-hung-over-us-like-a-thunder-cloud/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Jealousy is the most radical primeval and naked form of admiration in war paint, so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/jealousy-is-the-most-radical-primeval-and-naked-form-of-admiration-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [You have no idea, unless you have tried it, how endlessly long is a summer's day, that you measure out only by hunger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-have-no-idea-unless-you-have-tried-it-how-endlessly-long-is-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/do-not-measure-success-by-today-s-harvest-measure-success-by-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/to-be-idle-requires-a-strong-sense-of-personal-identity/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Saints are sinners who kept on going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/saints-are-sinners-who-kept-on-going/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/loving-god-help-us-remember-the-birth-of-jesus-that-we-may-share-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-friendly-cow-all-red-and-white-i-love-with-all-my-heart-she-gives/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) [Explore all 701 Robert Louis Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## More Companion quotes > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [One must accept the fact that we have only one companion in this world, a companion who accompanies us from the cradle to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/one-must-accept-the-fact-that-we-have-only-one-companion-in-this/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I am simply looking for a companion with whom to spend my days, a companion who will cherish as much as I the stupidity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-julavits/i-am-simply-looking-for-a-companion-with-whom-to-spend-my-days-a/) [Heidi Julavits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-julavits/) > [I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can be cured only with gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-and-my-companions-suffer-from-a-disease-of-the-heart-which-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The adult who puts his arm around his companion in the ballroom, and the child in the roadway, skipping in a round dance -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-sachs/the-adult-who-puts-his-arm-around-his-companion-in-the-ballroom-and/) [Curt Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-sachs/) > [True, the fragile bodies of his fellows do not weigh down his plane; true, the fretful minds of weaker men are missing from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/true-the-fragile-bodies-of-his-fellows-do-not-weigh-down-his-plane/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [God is our portion, Christ our companion, the Spirit our Comforter, Earth our lodge, and Heaven is our home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/god-is-our-portion-christ-our-companion-the-spirit-our-comforter/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [The thing that counts most in the pursuit of happiness is choosing the right companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/the-thing-that-counts-most-in-the-pursuit-of-happiness-is-choosing/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [ \[A cat\] will make itself the companion of your hours of work, of loneliness, or of sadness. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/a-cat-will-make-itself-the-companion-of-your-hours-of-work-of/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [Those who grieve frequently find themselves alone. Missed is the laughter of children, the commotion of teenagers, and the tender, loving concern of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/those-who-grieve-frequently-find-themselves-alone-missed-is-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Plato calls complacency the companion of loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/plato-calls-complacency-the-companion-of-loneliness/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [The burning soul, the burden'd mind, In books alone companions find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-josepha-hale/the-burning-soul-the-burden-d-mind-in-books-alone-companions-find/) [Sarah Josepha Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-josepha-hale/) [Browse all 1,106 Companion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Happiness, eternal or temporal, is not the reward that mankind seeks, Happinesses are but his wayside companions. 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