---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the end, therefore, money will be the…"
description: "\"In the end, therefore, money will be the one thing people will desire, which is moreover only representative, an abstraction. Nowadays a young man hard..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/soren-kierkegaard-578_art_in-the-end-therefore-money-will-be-the-o_179475.jpg"
---

#  In the end, therefore, money will be the one thing people…

![“In the end, therefore, money will be the one thing people will desire, which is moreover only representative, an abstraction. Nowadays a young man hardly envies anyone his gifts, his art, the love of a beautiful girl, or his fame; he only envies him his money. Give me money, he will say, and I am…” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/soren-kierkegaard-578_art_in-the-end-therefore-money-will-be-the-o_179475.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/soren-kierkegaard-578_art_in-the-end-therefore-money-will-be-the-o_179475.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/soren-kierkegaard-578_art_in-the-end-therefore-money-will-be-the-o_179475.jpg)

> “In the end, therefore, money will be the one thing people will desire, which is moreover only representative, an abstraction. Nowadays a young man hardly envies anyone his gifts, his art, the love of a beautiful girl, or his fame; he only envies him his money. Give me money, he will say, and I am saved...He would die with nothing to reproach himself with, and under the impression that if only he had had the money he might really have lived and might even have achieved something great.”

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

## About This Quote

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

People often view money as the ultimate solution to life's problems, overlooking deeper values like art, love, and personal fulfillment.

**In simple terms:** Money is seen as a cure-all, but true fulfillment comes from non‑material sources.

Key Takeaway

Seek meaning beyond wealth.

Themes

materialism existentialism values

Mood

reflective critical

Type

philosophical contemplative

When to use this quote

- career choices
- relationship building
- creative pursuits

Key Concepts

consumerism self‑worth

Questions to Reflect On

- What non‑material goals truly satisfy you?
- How does society’s focus on money shape personal identity?

A Different Perspective

Wealth alone cannot guarantee happiness or moral integrity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [I feel that doing business is just like practising Buddhism. Money is not your only purpose. Your purpose is to make things better for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guo-guangchang/i-feel-that-doing-business-is-just-like-practising-buddhism-money-is/)

[Guo Guangchang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guo-guangchang/)

> [Some work hard to acquire money only to find in the end that money acquired them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/some-work-hard-to-acquire-money-only-to-find-in-the-end-that-money/)

[LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/)

> [I look forward to the end of all this money-making part of the career, to be truthful,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-guilfoyle/i-look-forward-to-the-end-of-all-this-money-making-part-of-the-career/)

[Paul Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-guilfoyle/)

> [“The end of money is not ease but the opportunity to perform more service.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/the-end-of-money-is-not-ease-but-the-opportunity-to-perform-more/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [Multinational corporations and a market economy have transformed human beings into instruments of making money. Human beings should be the end. And money should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kumar/multinational-corporations-and-a-market-economy-have-transformed/)

[Satish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kumar/)

> [I was never interested in money. I always looked down on it. But now that I have less money, I see that without money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/i-was-never-interested-in-money-i-always-looked-down-on-it-but-now/)

[Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/)

> [In the end, money is no longer your wealth, but you being ALIVE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/in-the-end-money-is-no-longer-your-wealth-but-you-being-alive/)

[Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/)

> [In the end money is ur only friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2much4you2touch/in-the-end-money-is-ur-only-friend/)

@2much4you2touch

> [Think I need a 2nd job, I have way too much month at the end of my money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/think-i-need-a-2nd-job-i-have-way-too-much-month-at-the-end-of-my/)

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

> [Whether the Bushes, or whoever they are, they always end up in the end with the money and the ability to really blow away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-matthews/whether-the-bushes-or-whoever-they-are-they-always-end-up-in-the-end/)

[Chris Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-matthews/)

> [Why is there so much month left at the end of the money?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/why-is-there-so-much-month-left-at-the-end-of-the-money/)

[John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/)

> [“In the end, money is just money and all we truly have is each other. That, my dear, is the currency with which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-donsky-levine/in-the-end-money-is-just-money-and-all-we-truly-have-is-each-other/)

L. Donsky-Levine

> [“If they follow the way of Money Chiefs, they shall die. Earth is sick and can no longer care for her children. Now, Earth’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fr-d-ric-perrin/if-they-follow-the-way-of-money-chiefs-they-shall-die-earth-is-sick/)

Frédéric Perrin

> [In the end, money should serve something greater than just money. It should serve you, your family, the people you want to touch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/in-the-end-money-should-serve-something-greater-than-just-money-it/)

[Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/)

> [“Money, you could say, was the elephant in The Room .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-sestero/money-you-could-say-was-the-elephant-in-the-room/)

[Greg Sestero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-sestero/)

## More by Soren Kierkegaard

> [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [Christians remind me of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christians-remind-me-of-schoolboys-who-want-to-look-up-the-answers-to/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-commonly-travel-the-world-over-to-see-rivers-and-mountains-new/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [That which is truly human no generation learns from the one before it. No generation learns from another how to love. No generation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/that-which-is-truly-human-no-generation-learns-from-the-one-before-it/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [Be that self which one truly is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/be-that-self-which-one-truly-is/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [I go fishing for a thousand monsters in the depths of my own self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-go-fishing-for-a-thousand-monsters-in-the-depths-of-my-own-self/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-addition-to-my-other-numerous-acquaintances-i-have-one-more/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [The greatest danger to Christianity is, I contend, not heresies, not heterodoxies, not atheists, not profane secularism - no, but the kind of orthodoxy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-greatest-danger-to-christianity-is-i-contend-not-heresies-not/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [Future is everything that past has forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/future-is-everything-that-past-has-forgotten/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [Without risk, faith is an impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/without-risk-faith-is-an-impossibility/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [I have only one confidant, and that is the silence of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-only-one-confidant-and-that-is-the-silence-of-night/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [A road well begun is the battle half won. The important thing is to make a beginning and get under way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-road-well-begun-is-the-battle-half-won-the-important-thing-is-to/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [I have, I believe, the courage to doubt everything; I have, I believe, the courage to fight against everything; but I do not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-i-believe-the-courage-to-doubt-everything-i-have-i-believe-the/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

[Explore all 462 Soren Kierkegaard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

## More Art quotes

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/)

[Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/)

> [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/)

Taf Teh

> [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/)

[Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/)

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/)

> [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

[Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In the end, therefore, money will be the one thing people will desire, which is moreover only representative, an abstraction. Nowadays a young man hardly envies anyone his gifts, his art, the love of a beautiful girl, or his fame; he only envies him his money. Give me money, he will say, and I am saved...He would die with nothing to reproach himself with, and under the impression that if only he had had the money he might really have lived and might even have achieved something great.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Soren Kierkegaard"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-the-end-therefore-money-will-be-the-one-thing-people-will-desire/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-the-end-therefore-money-will-be-the-one-thing-people-will-desire/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/soren-kierkegaard-578_art_in-the-end-therefore-money-will-be-the-o_179475.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/soren-kierkegaard-578_art_in-the-end-therefore-money-will-be-the-o_179475.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/soren-kierkegaard-578_art_in-the-end-therefore-money-will-be-the-o_179475.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In the end, therefore, money will be the one thing people will desire, which is moreover only…” — Soren Kierkegaard",
                "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": "Soren Kierkegaard",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In the end, therefore, money will...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-the-end-therefore-money-will-be-the-one-thing-people-will-desire/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-the-end-therefore-money-will-be-the-one-thing-people-will-desire/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
