--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of the blessings set before you make your…" description: "\"Of the blessings set before you make your choice, and be content. No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/575/samuel-johnson-50_autumn_of-the-blessings-set-before-you-make-you_1111696.png" --- # Of the blessings set before you make your choice, and be… ![“Of the blessings set before you make your choice, and be content. No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of the spring: no man can, at the same time, fill his cup from the source and from the mouth of the Nile.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/575/samuel-johnson-50_autumn_of-the-blessings-set-before-you-make-you_1111696.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/575/samuel-johnson-50_autumn_of-the-blessings-set-before-you-make-you_1111696.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/575/samuel-johnson-50_autumn_of-the-blessings-set-before-you-make-you_1111696.png) > “Of the blessings set before you make your choice, and be content. No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of the spring: no man can, at the same time, fill his cup from the source and from the mouth of the Nile.” [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. Choosing one path brings contentment; trying to enjoy all at once leads to emptiness. **In simple terms:** Pick one thing and be satisfied. Key Takeaway Focus on one goal at a time. Themes contentment choice focus Mood reflective calm Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - career decisions - relationship choices - personal goals - financial planning Key Concepts opportunity cost satiation Questions to Reflect On - What single pursuit could you fully embrace now? - How does exclusivity enhance appreciation? A Different Perspective You may miss unexpected benefits by narrowing focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Blessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessing/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) ## Related quotes > [No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-man-can-taste-the-fruits-of-autumn-while-he-is-delighting-his/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Our judgment ripens; our imagination decays. We cannot at once enjoy the flowers of the Spring of life and the fruits of its Autumn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/our-judgment-ripens-our-imagination-decays-we-cannot-at-once-enjoy/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [With the ripening of the fruits in Autumn the leaves begin to wither and the trees, taking up their sap from the earth through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/with-the-ripening-of-the-fruits-in-autumn-the-leaves-begin-to-wither/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Behold the grapes and all the fruits that Autumn gives today, As robed in red and gold, she rules, the Empress of Decay!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-abbey/behold-the-grapes-and-all-the-fruits-that-autumn-gives-today-as-robed/) [Henry Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-abbey/) > [You can tell a man's taste in literature by his judgment in knowing what not to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/you-can-tell-a-man-s-taste-in-literature-by-his-judgment-in-knowing/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [I could not be happy with a man whose taste did not in every point coincide with my own. He must enter in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-could-not-be-happy-with-a-man-whose-taste-did-not-in-every-point/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Being with a man incapable of telling a lie – a whole lot of awesome. Being with a man who could taste when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/being-with-a-man-incapable-of-telling-a-lie-a-whole-lot-of-awesome/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [“There's this to say of love and breath -- They give a man a taste for death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-houseman/there-s-this-to-say-of-love-and-breath-they-give-a-man-a-taste-for/) A.E. Houseman > [There are no standards of taste in wine... Each man's own taste is the standard, and a majority vote cannot decide for him or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-are-no-standards-of-taste-in-wine-each-man-s-own-taste-is-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“If a man could taste wind and fire, they would taste like Katherine. When he stood in high places looking down on things made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-o-connell/if-a-man-could-taste-wind-and-fire-they-would-taste-like-katherine/) [Ellen O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-o-connell/) > [A man that has a taste of music, painting, or architecture, is like one that has another sense, when compared with such as have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/a-man-that-has-a-taste-of-music-painting-or-architecture-is-like-one/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [To-day I think Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield, And bracken, and wild carrot's seed, And the square mustard field; Odours that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/to-day-i-think-only-with-scents-scents-dead-leaves-yield-and-bracken/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [One day, perhaps, some idle tongue Mentions your name by accident: I feel as if a rose were flung Into the room, all hue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/one-day-perhaps-some-idle-tongue-mentions-your-name-by-accident-i/) Author Name > [“Spirits carry an ozone scent, and demons smell like sulfur or rotten eggs. A person might not even consciously register the smell, but they’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-horn/spirits-carry-an-ozone-scent-and-demons-smell-like-sulfur-or-rotten/) [J.D. Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-horn/) > [“For a while I just sat there reveling in the pure pleasure of his touch. The scent of him was still in the air.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belinda-jones/for-a-while-i-just-sat-there-reveling-in-the-pure-pleasure-of-his/) Belinda Jones ## 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 Autumn quotes > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The American spring is by no means so agreeable as the American autumn; both move with faltering step, and slow; but this lingering pace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/the-american-spring-is-by-no-means-so-agreeable-as-the-american/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“FALL I've never liked orange not even a hint of yellow though that doesn't mean I'm derange, you know. but it's still a riddle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kynna-claire/fall-i-ve-never-liked-orange-not-even-a-hint-of-yellow-though-that/) Kynna Claire > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-found-himself-wondering-at-times-especially-in-the-autumn-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [“Autumn eats its leaf out of my hand: we are friends. From the nuts we shell time and we teach it to walk: then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/autumn-eats-its-leaf-out-of-my-hand-we-are-friends-from-the-nuts-we/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are. We must esteem them as teachers, learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-must-learn-to-do-economic-work-from-all-who-know-how-no-matter-who/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) [Browse all 1,210 Autumn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of the blessings set before you make your choice, and be content. 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