--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Altruism is for those who can't endure…" description: "\"Altruism is for those who can't endure their desires. There's a world as ambiguous as a moan, a pleasure moan our earnest neighbors might think a crime..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d2/stephen-dunn-15620_altruism_altruism-is-for-those-who-can-t-endure-t_3191205.png" --- # Altruism is for those who can't endure their desires… ![“Altruism is for those who can't endure their desires. There's a world as ambiguous as a moan, a pleasure moan our earnest neighbors might think a crime. It's where we could live. I'll say I love you, Which will lead, of course, to disappointment, but those words unsaid poison every next moment. I…” quote by Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d2/stephen-dunn-15620_altruism_altruism-is-for-those-who-can-t-endure-t_3191205.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d2/stephen-dunn-15620_altruism_altruism-is-for-those-who-can-t-endure-t_3191205.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d2/stephen-dunn-15620_altruism_altruism-is-for-those-who-can-t-endure-t_3191205.png) > “Altruism is for those who can't endure their desires. There's a world as ambiguous as a moan, a pleasure moan our earnest neighbors might think a crime. It's where we could live. I'll say I love you, Which will lead, of course, to disappointment, but those words unsaid poison every next moment. I will try to disappoint you better than anyone else has. --Mon Semblable” [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques altruism as a refuge for those unable to satisfy personal desires, suggesting love can become a source of disappointment and poison. **In simple terms:** Altruism may mask unmet desires, leading to disappointment. Key Takeaway Balance self‑care with caring for others. Themes love disappointment desire Mood melancholic introspective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - friendship - family dynamics Key Concepts self‑sacrifice psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile personal desire with caring for others? - When does love become harmful? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on self‑denial can cause resentment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Altruism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altruism/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) [Generosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Poison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poison/) [Say i love you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-i-love-you/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Altruism is for those who cannot endure their desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/altruism-is-for-those-who-cannot-endure-their-desires/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“As she neared the gazebo, the unmistakable sounds of passion drifted from the interior. She halted as a woman let out a long, soft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerrelyn-sparks/as-she-neared-the-gazebo-the-unmistakable-sounds-of-passion-drifted/) [Kerrelyn Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerrelyn-sparks/) > [Misogyny was rife when I started out. You'd moan about it with your friends, but you just got on with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-redman/misogyny-was-rife-when-i-started-out-you-d-moan-about-it-with-your/) [Amanda Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-redman/) > [“When I have you bent over this couch, which one of your names should I moan?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/when-i-have-you-bent-over-this-couch-which-one-of-your-names-should-i/) [Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/) > [“A testimony = a test often accompanied by a moan!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evinda-lepins/a-testimony-a-test-often-accompanied-by-a-moan/) [Evinda Lepins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evinda-lepins/) > [“I would pour out the contents of my heart and set it all aflame, just to hear her impossible mouth slowly moan my name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-diedrich/i-would-pour-out-the-contents-of-my-heart-and-set-it-all-aflame-just/) [Kirk Diedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-diedrich/) > [“And hear across the moan of many seas The whisper and the laughter of my brook.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hay-whitney/and-hear-across-the-moan-of-many-seas-the-whisper-and-the-laughter-of/) Helen Hay Whitney > [You moan a lot and jingle your change But let's face it, there's no escape You can flick the remote as much as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walter-bratton/you-moan-a-lot-and-jingle-your-change-but-let-s-face-it-there-s-no/) [John Walter Bratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walter-bratton/) > [I can't stand it when writers moan about what film-makers might do or have done to their books. There's a very simple answer: don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-can-t-stand-it-when-writers-moan-about-what-film-makers-might-do-or/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Go Moan for Man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/go-moan-for-man/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Pompous asses knows how to put the moan in sanctimonious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/pompous-asses-knows-how-to-put-the-moan-in-sanctimonious/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Damn nigga calm down... i aint trying to steal your ho i just wanna make her wet make her moan my name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tay/damn-nigga-calm-down-i-aint-trying-to-steal-your-ho-i-just-wanna-make/) [Tay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tay/) > [Oh baby can you hear me moan?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muse/oh-baby-can-you-hear-me-moan/) [Muse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muse/) > [So let me be thy choir, and make a moan Upon the midnight hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/so-let-me-be-thy-choir-and-make-a-moan-upon-the-midnight-hours/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [But woe to him, who left to moan, Reviews the hours of brightness gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/but-woe-to-him-who-left-to-moan-reviews-the-hours-of-brightness-gone/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) ## More by Stephen Dunn > [“He held her like a new woman and what she felt felt almost as good as love had, and each of them called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/he-held-her-like-a-new-woman-and-what-she-felt-felt-almost-as-good-as/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [I will try to disappoint you better than anyone ever has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/i-will-try-to-disappoint-you-better-than-anyone-ever-has/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [If the motive of writing is for some people a kind of exercise in dirty laundry, that's one thing. I've always thought of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/if-the-motive-of-writing-is-for-some-people-a-kind-of-exercise-in/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [The world is always somewhat vicious. I take that as a given, but at various times in various circumstances that fact will be no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/the-world-is-always-somewhat-vicious-i-take-that-as-a-given-but-at/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [A good many of my poems over the years have alluded to or taken on the political. Stevens has a line in one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/a-good-many-of-my-poems-over-the-years-have-alluded-to-or-taken-on/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [What feeling feels like over time. An attempt to screw up what feeling feels like over time. Heartbreak and a high C… The often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/what-feeling-feels-like-over-time-an-attempt-to-screw-up-what-feeling/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [“God knows nothing we don't know. We gave him every word he ever said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/god-knows-nothing-we-don-t-know-we-gave-him-every-word-he-ever-said/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [A moment of something between acceptance and resignation of one's smallness in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/a-moment-of-something-between-acceptance-and-resignation-of-one-s/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [“That time I thought I was in love and calmly said so was not much different from the time I was truly in love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/that-time-i-thought-i-was-in-love-and-calmly-said-so-was-not-much/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [“I'll say I love you, Which will lead, of course, to disappointment, but those words unsaid poison every next moment. I will try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/i-ll-say-i-love-you-which-will-lead-of-course-to-disappointment-but/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [Perhaps basketball and poetry have just a few things in common, but the most important is the possibility of transcendence. The opposite is labor.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/perhaps-basketball-and-poetry-have-just-a-few-things-in-common-but/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [There's a certain pleasure in violating the strictures of your education. The trick is, if you're going to explore ideas in a poem, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/there-s-a-certain-pleasure-in-violating-the-strictures-of-your/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [“He didn’t want to be this thin man whose desires were barely covered by skin, standing absolutely still. But everytime he moved there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/he-didn-t-want-to-be-this-thin-man-whose-desires-were-barely-covered/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [Bring to me, it said, continual proof / you've been alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/bring-to-me-it-said-continual-proof-you-ve-been-alive/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [Connubial Because with alarming accuracy she’d been identifying patterns I was unaware of—this tic, that tendency, like the way I've mastered the language of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/connubial-because-with-alarming-accuracy-she-d-been-identifying/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) [Explore all 42 Stephen Dunn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) ## More Altruism quotes > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“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/) > [“...True classical dropouts in society are those who avoid difficult challenges and cling to the first opportunity that comes their way. They never test…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/true-classical-dropouts-in-society-are-those-who-avoid-difficult/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“Take a stand that reflects the widest horizons of your soul if you don’t want to be a slave to external powers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/take-a-stand-that-reflects-the-widest-horizons-of-your-soul-if-you/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [One of the great issues in biology is the origin of altruism - of why you would do something for someone else that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/one-of-the-great-issues-in-biology-is-the-origin-of-altruism-of-why/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/how-selfish-soever-man-may-be-supposed-there-are-evidently-some/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Restoration ecology is experimental science, a science of love and altruism. In its attempts to reverse the processes of ecosystem degradation it runs exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-mills/restoration-ecology-is-experimental-science-a-science-of-love-and/) [Stephanie Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-mills/) > [“...of all the nonsense that twists the world, the concept of 'altruism' is the worst. People do what they want to do, every time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/of-all-the-nonsense-that-twists-the-world-the-concept-of-altruism-is/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Only a fool would find happiness from an achievement that is detrimental to those he loves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/only-a-fool-would-find-happiness-from-an-achievement-that-is/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordell-hull/never-insult-an-alligator-until-after-you-have-crossed-the-river/) [Cordell Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordell-hull/) > [“…the purpose of life is to nurture joy, which involves those aspects of humanity that enrich the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-nurture-joy-which-involves-those-aspects-of/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“Whatever they say about it, but being altruistic is not so simple for everyone. Not to look and sound like despotism, altruism must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-biyuts/whatever-they-say-about-it-but-being-altruistic-is-not-so-simple-for/) [Lara Biyuts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-biyuts/) > [Effective altruism is the form of altruism in which we bring our rational capacities to bear in order to do the most good that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/effective-altruism-is-the-form-of-altruism-in-which-we-bring-our/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“Societies and people that come close to being happy are those that do well in narrowing the disparity between their desires and their needs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/societies-and-people-that-come-close-to-being-happy-are-those-that-do/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“Most of the truly kind people of this world show some measure of discomfort when offered kindness. Their gratitude stems not only from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/most-of-the-truly-kind-people-of-this-world-show-some-measure-of/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) [Browse all 419 Altruism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altruism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Altruism is for those who can't endure their desires. There's a world as ambiguous as a moan, a pleasure moan our earnest neighbors might think a crime. It's where we could live. I'll say I love you, Which will lead, of course, to disappointment, but those words unsaid poison every next moment. 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