--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ease, a neutral state between pain and…" description: "\"Ease, a neutral state between pain and pleasure ... if it is not rising into pleasure will be falling towards pain.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/samuel-johnson-50_ease_ease-a-neutral-state-between-pain-and-pl_1871883.png" --- # Ease, a neutral state between pain and pleasure ... if it… ![“Ease, a neutral state between pain and pleasure ... if it is not rising into pleasure will be falling towards pain.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/samuel-johnson-50_ease_ease-a-neutral-state-between-pain-and-pl_1871883.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/samuel-johnson-50_ease_ease-a-neutral-state-between-pain-and-pl_1871883.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/samuel-johnson-50_ease_ease-a-neutral-state-between-pain-and-pl_1871883.png) > “Ease, a neutral state between pain and pleasure ... if it is not rising into pleasure will be falling towards pain.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A balanced emotional state avoids extremes; without effort, pleasure fades and pain rises. **In simple terms:** Neutral state avoids extremes. Key Takeaway Maintain equilibrium. Themes balance emotion moderation Mood calm reflective Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - workplace stress - personal health - relationships Key Concepts Stoicism hedonism Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain balance? - What habits keep you centered? A Different Perspective Neglecting effort leads to decline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease/) [Ease Neutral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease-neutral-2588820/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Falling Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-pain-1120736/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain and pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-and-pleasure/) [Pain pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-pleasure/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasure Falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-falling-2588821/) [Rising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rising/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) ## Related quotes > [“When the rain stops falling, the pain comes fooling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faqdil/when-the-rain-stops-falling-the-pain-comes-fooling/) [Faqdil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faqdil/) > [“What happened was pain and pleasure and shock and satisfaction all rolled into one. Pain as he withdrew and thrust over and over again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/what-happened-was-pain-and-pleasure-and-shock-and-satisfaction-all/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“The worldly life means a factory of pain and pleasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/the-worldly-life-means-a-factory-of-pain-and-pleasure/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“That's only because what we have is deep. Its pain and pleasure mixed into one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-c-brown/that-s-only-because-what-we-have-is-deep-its-pain-and-pleasure-mixed/) [C.C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-c-brown/) > [Pain may be said to follow pleasure as its shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/pain-may-be-said-to-follow-pleasure-as-its-shadow/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Life is both pain and pleasure. If this is the price you must pay for the hours you enjoy, is it too much?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/life-is-both-pain-and-pleasure-if-this-is-the-price-you-must-pay-for/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [“It is a known fact that pain and pleasure are the two most basic elements of life. But the secret is to simplify that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bauvard/it-is-a-known-fact-that-pain-and-pleasure-are-the-two-most-basic/) [Bauvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bauvard/) > [“God is a random event, a nexus of pain and pleasure and making and breaking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/god-is-a-random-event-a-nexus-of-pain-and-pleasure-and-making-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“I’ve learned that the worst pain, fear, and torment I’ve ever experienced has only deepened my ability to experience joy. I feel this even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/i-ve-learned-that-the-worst-pain-fear-and-torment-i-ve-ever/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“You see, when you're excited, your body has trouble telling the difference between pain and pleasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherise-sinclair/you-see-when-you-re-excited-your-body-has-trouble-telling-the/) [Cherise Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherise-sinclair/) > [Pain and pleasure, like light and darkness, succeed each other; and he only who knows how to accommodate himself to their returns, and can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/pain-and-pleasure-like-light-and-darkness-succeed-each-other-and-he/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Sometimes it is harder to deprive oneself of a pain than of a pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/sometimes-it-is-harder-to-deprive-oneself-of-a-pain-than-of-a-pleasure/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/god-whispers-to-us-in-our-pleasures-speaks-to-us-in-our-conscience/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [There is a pleasure that is born of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/there-is-a-pleasure-that-is-born-of-pain/) [Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/) > [Soon is the struggle past, and to the earth, To the eternal sun, I render back These atoms, joined in me for pain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/soon-is-the-struggle-past-and-to-the-earth-to-the-eternal-sun-i/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [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/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Ease quotes > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [To be at ease is better than to be at business. Nothing really belongs to us but time, which even he has who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/to-be-at-ease-is-better-than-to-be-at-business-nothing-really-belongs/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit coming to us free of charge to enable you to do with ease what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/grace-is-the-power-of-the-holy-spirit-coming-to-us-free-of-charge-to/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Men who have lived significant lives are men who never waited: not for money, security, ease, or women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/men-who-have-lived-significant-lives-are-men-who-never-waited-not-for/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) > [Whenever I'm asked about Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, I always answer: 'Neymar is the best,' not just because of his goals but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-carlos/whenever-i-m-asked-about-cristiano-ronaldo-or-lionel-messi-i-always/) [Roberto Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-carlos/) > [Anyone who thinks science is trying to make human life easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/anyone-who-thinks-science-is-trying-to-make-human-life-easier-or-more/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The only way to ease our fear and be truly happy is to acknowledge our fear and look deeply at its source. Instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-way-to-ease-our-fear-and-be-truly-happy-is-to-acknowledge/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Efforts to ease regulations and reform the nation's tax system have helped put this self-sustaining recovery on track, The numbers prove our policies have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinzo-abe/efforts-to-ease-regulations-and-reform-the-nation-s-tax-system-have/) [Shinzo Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinzo-abe/) > [If I replace the word God with the word nature, I am far more at ease with the whole religious enterprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-s-kesselheim/if-i-replace-the-word-god-with-the-word-nature-i-am-far-more-at-ease/) [Alan S. Kesselheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-s-kesselheim/) > [This kind of horror has become all too familiar to us. As parents, Cindy and I offer our prayers to the memory of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/this-kind-of-horror-has-become-all-too-familiar-to-us-as-parents/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [“In quixotically trying to conquer death doctors all too frequently do no good for their patients’ “ease” but at the same time they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/in-quixotically-trying-to-conquer-death-doctors-all-too-frequently-do/) [Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/) > [Although I'm perceived as very optimistic and upbeat, it comes out of being the opposite of that - feeling isolated or lonely, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/although-i-m-perceived-as-very-optimistic-and-upbeat-it-comes-out-of/) [Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/) > [Good-breeding is not confined to externals, much less to any particular dress or attitude of the body; it is the art of pleasing, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/good-breeding-is-not-confined-to-externals-much-less-to-any/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Browse all 1,502 Ease quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ease, a neutral state between pain and pleasure ... if it is not rising into pleasure will be falling towards pain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/ease-a-neutral-state-between-pain-and-pleasure-if-it-is-not-rising/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ease" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/ease-a-neutral-state-between-pain-and-pleasure-if-it-is-not-rising/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/samuel-johnson-50_ease_ease-a-neutral-state-between-pain-and-pl_1871883.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/samuel-johnson-50_ease_ease-a-neutral-state-between-pain-and-pl_1871883.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/samuel-johnson-50_ease_ease-a-neutral-state-between-pain-and-pl_1871883.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ease, a neutral state between pain and pleasure ... if it is not rising into pleasure will be falling…” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ease, a neutral state between pain...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/ease-a-neutral-state-between-pain-and-pleasure-if-it-is-not-rising/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/ease-a-neutral-state-between-pain-and-pleasure-if-it-is-not-rising/#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 } } ] } ```