--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poverty is a bitter thing; but it is not…" description: "\"Poverty is a bitter thing; but it is not as bitter as the existence of restless vacuity and physical, moral, and intellectual flabbiness, to which thos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/theodore-roosevelt-218_bitter_poverty-is-a-bitter-thing-but-it-is-not_1225714.jpg" --- # Poverty is a bitter thing; but it is not as bitter as the… ![“Poverty is a bitter thing; but it is not as bitter as the existence of restless vacuity and physical, moral, and intellectual flabbiness, to which those doom themselves who elect to spend all their years in that vainest of all vain pursuits-the pursuit of mere pleasure as a sufficient end in itself.” quote by Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/theodore-roosevelt-218_bitter_poverty-is-a-bitter-thing-but-it-is-not_1225714.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/theodore-roosevelt-218_bitter_poverty-is-a-bitter-thing-but-it-is-not_1225714.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/theodore-roosevelt-218_bitter_poverty-is-a-bitter-thing-but-it-is-not_1225714.jpg) > “Poverty is a bitter thing; but it is not as bitter as the existence of restless vacuity and physical, moral, and intellectual flabbiness, to which those doom themselves who elect to spend all their years in that vainest of all vain pursuits-the pursuit of mere pleasure as a sufficient end in itself.” [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursuing pleasure alone leads to emptiness; true fulfillment requires purpose, effort, and moral development. **In simple terms:** Pleasure without purpose is hollow. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful goals. Themes purpose morality fulfillment Mood serious motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - education - volunteer work - personal development Key Concepts existentialism ethics Questions to Reflect On - What pursuits give your life meaning? - How can you integrate purpose into daily pleasures? A Different Perspective Pleasure can be a healthy part of life when balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doom/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Restless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restless/) [Vacuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vacuity/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) ## Related quotes > [Poverty is a bitter weed to most women, and there are few indeed who can accept it with dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-lynn-linton/poverty-is-a-bitter-weed-to-most-women-and-there-are-few-indeed-who/) [Eliza Lynn Linton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-lynn-linton/) > [Poverty is bitter, but it has no harder pang than that it makes men ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/poverty-is-bitter-but-it-has-no-harder-pang-than-that-it-makes-men/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [There’s no such thing as a bitter person who keeps the bitterness to himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bitter-person-who-keeps-the-bitterness-to/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [It's one thing to be bitter about something, but it's another thing to recognise the growth and the change that you made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xzibit/it-s-one-thing-to-be-bitter-about-something-but-it-s-another-thing-to/) [Xzibit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xzibit/) > [Preacher who says that the sweet life is made from bitter parts is more or less telling those who have come to mourn the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-minor/preacher-who-says-that-the-sweet-life-is-made-from-bitter-parts-is/) [Kyle Minor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-minor/) > [This life has been given to you for repentance; do not waste it in vain pursuits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-of-nineveh/this-life-has-been-given-to-you-for-repentance-do-not-waste-it-in/) [Isaac of Nineveh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-of-nineveh/) > [“This life was given to you for repentance, do not waste it in vain pursuits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-isaac-the-syrian/this-life-was-given-to-you-for-repentance-do-not-waste-it-in-vain/) St. Isaac the Syrian > [Do not waste this life in vain pursuits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-of-nineveh/do-not-waste-this-life-in-vain-pursuits/) [Isaac of Nineveh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-of-nineveh/) > [“It’s not even that you have to drop vain pursuits. God is not asking you to give up your sweeties, your favorite treats. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mooji/it-s-not-even-that-you-have-to-drop-vain-pursuits-god-is-not-asking/) [Mooji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mooji/) > [The only free mind is one that, pure of all intimacy with beings or objects, plies its own vacuity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/the-only-free-mind-is-one-that-pure-of-all-intimacy-with-beings-or/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [For far too long economists have sought to define themselves in terms of their supposedly scientific methods. In fact, those methods rely on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/for-far-too-long-economists-have-sought-to-define-themselves-in-terms/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [Your friends will notice at once that glib vacuities fail to impress, and hate you, and tell lies about you. It's worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/your-friends-will-notice-at-once-that-glib-vacuities-fail-to-impress/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [Fashionable women regard themselves, and are regarded by men, as pretty toys or as mere instruments of pleasure; and the vacuity of mind, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-moore-grimke/fashionable-women-regard-themselves-and-are-regarded-by-men-as-pretty/) [Sarah Moore Grimke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-moore-grimke/) > [A lot of times you see really good-looking guys on TV and you sort of assume that maybe there's some sort of vacuity behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-collins/a-lot-of-times-you-see-really-good-looking-guys-on-tv-and-you-sort-of/) [Misha Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-collins/) > [Much that we hug today as knowledge is ignorance pure and simple. It makes the mind wander and even reduces it to a vacuity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/much-that-we-hug-today-as-knowledge-is-ignorance-pure-and-simple-it/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More by Theodore Roosevelt > [No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/no-people-is-wholly-civilized-where-a-distinction-is-drawn-between/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-no-effective-control-of-corporations-while-their/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/get-action-seize-the-moment-man-was-never-intended-to-become-an-oyster/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Argument weak; speak loudly!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/argument-weak-speak-loudly/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/let-the-watchwords-of-all-our-people-be-the-old-familiar-watchwords/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The forces that tend for evil are great and terrible, but the forces of truth and love and courage and honesty and generosity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-forces-that-tend-for-evil-are-great-and-terrible-but-the-forces/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/every-reform-movement-has-a-lunatic-fringe/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Conservation and rural-life policies are really two sides of the same policy; and down at the bottom this policy rests upon the fundamental law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/conservation-and-rural-life-policies-are-really-two-sides-of-the-same/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [It is a great mistake to think that the extremist is a better man than the moderate. Usually the difference is not that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-is-a-great-mistake-to-think-that-the-extremist-is-a-better-man/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [I am a strong individualist by personal habit, inheritance, and conviction; but it is a mere matter of common sense to recognize that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/i-am-a-strong-individualist-by-personal-habit-inheritance-and/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Alone of human beings the good and wise mother stands on a plane of equal honor with the bravest soldier; for she has gladly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/alone-of-human-beings-the-good-and-wise-mother-stands-on-a-plane-of/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The greatest privilege and greatest duty for any man is to be happily married, and no other form of success or service, for either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-greatest-privilege-and-greatest-duty-for-any-man-is-to-be-happily/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [For unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly all other forms of success and achievement lose their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/for-unflagging-interest-and-enjoyment-a-household-of-children-if/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains. To put an end to it will be neither a short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-no-effective-control-of-corporations-while-their-2/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [If elected, I shall see to it that every man has a square deal, no less and no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/if-elected-i-shall-see-to-it-that-every-man-has-a-square-deal-no-less/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) [Explore all 876 Theodore Roosevelt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) ## More Bitter quotes > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [One may have been a fool, but there's no foolishness like being bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/one-may-have-been-a-fool-but-there-s-no-foolishness-like-being-bitter/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-too-bitter-already-without-territories-and-wars-and-noble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With every interview you feel like you lose a piece of yourself, and with every bad review you become just that little bit more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-march/with-every-interview-you-feel-like-you-lose-a-piece-of-yourself-and/) [Jane March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-march/) > [“Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-the-bitter-the-sweet-ain-t-as-sweet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-refuse-to-be-one-of-those-artists-who-10-years-from-now-they-re/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [“In these days in which we live, when existence has become a thing of infinite complexity and fate, if it slips us a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/in-these-days-in-which-we-live-when-existence-has-become-a-thing-of/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) Browse all 1,923 Bitter quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Poverty is a bitter thing; but it is not as bitter as the existence of restless vacuity and physical, moral, and intellectual flabbiness, to which those doom themselves who elect to spend all their years in that vainest of all vain pursuits-the pursuit of mere pleasure as a sufficient end in itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore Roosevelt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/poverty-is-a-bitter-thing-but-it-is-not-as-bitter-as-the-existence-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bitter" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/poverty-is-a-bitter-thing-but-it-is-not-as-bitter-as-the-existence-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/theodore-roosevelt-218_bitter_poverty-is-a-bitter-thing-but-it-is-not_1225714.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/theodore-roosevelt-218_bitter_poverty-is-a-bitter-thing-but-it-is-not_1225714.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/theodore-roosevelt-218_bitter_poverty-is-a-bitter-thing-but-it-is-not_1225714.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Poverty is a bitter thing; but it is not as bitter as the existence of restless vacuity and physical, moral…” — Theodore Roosevelt", "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": "Theodore Roosevelt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Poverty is a bitter thing; but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/poverty-is-a-bitter-thing-but-it-is-not-as-bitter-as-the-existence-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/poverty-is-a-bitter-thing-but-it-is-not-as-bitter-as-the-existence-of/#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 } } ] } ```