--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Throughout the millennia and across…" description: "\"“Throughout the millennia and across cultures, those who have thought carefully about desire have drawn the conclusion that spending our days working t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/william-b-irvine-29486_desire_throughout-the-millennia-and-across-cult_2076005.jpg" --- # Throughout the millennia and across cultures, those who… ![“Throughout the millennia and across cultures, those who have thought carefully about desire have drawn the conclusion that spending our days working to get whatever it is we find ourselves wanting is unlikely to bring us either happiness or tranquility.” quote by William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/william-b-irvine-29486_desire_throughout-the-millennia-and-across-cult_2076005.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/william-b-irvine-29486_desire_throughout-the-millennia-and-across-cult_2076005.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/william-b-irvine-29486_desire_throughout-the-millennia-and-across-cult_2076005.jpg) > ““Throughout the millennia and across cultures, those who have thought carefully about desire have drawn the conclusion that spending our days working to get whatever it is we find ourselves wanting is unlikely to bring us either happiness or tranquility.”” [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chasing desires rarely yields lasting happiness or peace; true contentment comes from managing wants. **In simple terms:** Desire chasing rarely brings happiness. Key Takeaway Focus on managing desires. Themes happiness desire contentment philosophy Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - financial decisions - relationship goals - personal development Key Concepts Stoicism psychology well‑being Questions to Reflect On - What desire dominates you? - Can you find peace without it? A Different Perspective Desire can be a useful motivator. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cultures Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultures-thought-4030910/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting/) [Wanting Unlikely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting-unlikely-4030909/) [Working Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-wanting-2144391/) ## Related quotes > [That is the spirit, to keep working and to keep wanting it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-dias/that-is-the-spirit-to-keep-working-and-to-keep-wanting-it-all/) [Ruben Dias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-dias/) > [Desire makes life happen. Makes it matter. Makes everything worth it. Desire is life. Hunger to see the next sunrise or sunset, to touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/desire-makes-life-happen-makes-it-matter-makes-everything-worth-it/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [In freedom can be found many devotions: a devotion to love, a desire to believe, a willingness to be happy, a perseverance to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-freedom-can-be-found-many-devotions-a-devotion-to-love-a-desire-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) > [When I know things are not for me, I learn to let go. It doesn't mean I'm weak but I'm just showing how strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-know-things-are-not-for-me-i-learn-to-let-go-it-doesn-t-mean-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dhobi Ghat' is the only script I actually completed and that I was convinced about wanting to direct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-rao/dhobi-ghat-is-the-only-script-i-actually-completed-and-that-i-was/) [Kiran Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-rao/) > [We might make money and be in the careers we're in, but we don't need a bunch of stuff. We like showcasing that and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brie-bella/we-might-make-money-and-be-in-the-careers-we-re-in-but-we-don-t-need/) [Brie Bella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brie-bella/) > [I always tell Asian actors, especially Filipinos wanting to break into Hollywood, to study, study and study and show their best. I haven't stopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-lee/i-always-tell-asian-actors-especially-filipinos-wanting-to-break-into/) [Reggie Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-lee/) > [It wasn't like, 'I'ma lose weight and start doing dramas.' I wanted to be healthier, and that was the impetus for wanting to lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-hill/it-wasn-t-like-i-ma-lose-weight-and-start-doing-dramas-i-wanted-to-be/) [Jonah Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-hill/) > [“All our misery comes from wanting at all costs to go on being Tom, Dick, or Harry, year in, year out. This body of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/all-our-misery-comes-from-wanting-at-all-costs-to-go-on-being-tom/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“Isn’t everyone on the planet or at least everyone on the planet called me stuck between the two impulses of wanting to walk away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/isn-t-everyone-on-the-planet-or-at-least-everyone-on-the-planet/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [Everybody out there watches the show and has expectations of wanting to be an 'Idol', but we're going to teach them how much hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-bice/everybody-out-there-watches-the-show-and-has-expectations-of-wanting/) [Bo Bice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-bice/) > [My earliest memory was watching gymnastics on live TV and wanting to do what the 'big girls' did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-hernandez/my-earliest-memory-was-watching-gymnastics-on-live-tv-and-wanting-to/) [Laurie Hernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-hernandez/) > [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-doubleday/growing-up-i-did-commercials-and-things-like-that-but-nothing-serious/) [Portia Doubleday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-doubleday/) > [Wanting someone you cant have, isnt that the way it always works?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wanting-someone-you-cant-have-isnt-that-the-way-it-always-works/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by William B. Irvine > [“Pre-Socratic philosophy begins ... with the discovery of Nature; Socratic philosophy begins with the discovery of man's soul."3”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/pre-socratic-philosophy-begins-with-the-discovery-of-nature-socratic/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“According to Seneca, “A man is as wretched as he has convinced himself that he is.” He therefore recommends that we “do away with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/according-to-seneca-a-man-is-as-wretched-as-he-has-convinced-himself/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“For the Stoics, however, the near impossibility of becoming a sage is not a problem. They talk about sages primarily so they will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/for-the-stoics-however-the-near-impossibility-of-becoming-a-sage-is/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“Indeed, pursuing pleasure, Seneca warns, is like pursuing a wild beast: On being captured, it can turn on us and tear us to pieces.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/indeed-pursuing-pleasure-seneca-warns-is-like-pursuing-a-wild-beast/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“Your primary desire, says Epictetus, should be your desire not to be frustrated by forming desires you won’t be able to fulfill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/your-primary-desire-says-epictetus-should-be-your-desire-not-to-be/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“reason tends to be the servant rather than the master of desire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/reason-tends-to-be-the-servant-rather-than-the-master-of-desire/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“Whenever you undertake an activity in which public failure is a possibility, you are likely to experience butterflies in your stomach. I mentioned above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/whenever-you-undertake-an-activity-in-which-public-failure-is-a/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“They warn us to be careful in choosing our associates; other people, after all, have the power to shatter our tranquility—if we let them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/they-warn-us-to-be-careful-in-choosing-our-associates-other-people/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“Stoic tranquility was a psychological state marked by the absence of negative emotions, such as grief, anger, and anxiety, and the presence of positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/stoic-tranquility-was-a-psychological-state-marked-by-the-absence-of/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“WHAT DO YOU WANT out of life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/what-do-you-want-out-of-life/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“Before Socrates, philosophers were primarily interested in explaining the world around them and the phenomena of that world—in doing what we would now call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/before-socrates-philosophers-were-primarily-interested-in-explaining/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“the art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.”46”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/the-art-of-living-is-more-like-wrestling-than-dancing-46/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“he is blessed who dies not late but well.”) It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/he-is-blessed-who-dies-not-late-but-well-it/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“If you refuse to enter contests that you are capable of losing, you will never lose a contest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/if-you-refuse-to-enter-contests-that-you-are-capable-of-losing-you/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [“My time is coming, I told myself, and I must do what I can to prepare for it. T”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/my-time-is-coming-i-told-myself-and-i-must-do-what-i-can-to-prepare/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) [Explore all 18 William B. Irvine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Throughout the millennia and across cultures, those who have thought carefully about desire have drawn the conclusion that spending our days working to get whatever it is we find ourselves wanting is unlikely to bring us either happiness or tranquility.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William B. 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