--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let sanguine healthy-mindedness do its…" description: "\"Let sanguine healthy-mindedness do its best with its strange power of living in the moment and ignoring and forgetting, still the evil background is re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/414/william-james-228_backgrounds_let-sanguine-healthy-mindedness-do-its-b_1683571.png" --- # Let sanguine healthy-mindedness do its best with its… ![“Let sanguine healthy-mindedness do its best with its strange power of living in the moment and ignoring and forgetting, still the evil background is really there to be thought of, and the skull will grin in at the banquet.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/414/william-james-228_backgrounds_let-sanguine-healthy-mindedness-do-its-b_1683571.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/414/william-james-228_backgrounds_let-sanguine-healthy-mindedness-do-its-b_1683571.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/414/william-james-228_backgrounds_let-sanguine-healthy-mindedness-do-its-b_1683571.png) > “Let sanguine healthy-mindedness do its best with its strange power of living in the moment and ignoring and forgetting, still the evil background is really there to be thought of, and the skull will grin in at the banquet.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It promotes living in the moment with optimism while acknowledging underlying evil, suggesting a tension between present joy and darker realities. **In simple terms:** Live now, but stay aware of hidden threats. Key Takeaway Balance optimism with vigilance. Themes philosophy psychology mindfulness existentialism dualism null Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily decision‑making - mental health - creative work - spiritual practice Key Concepts consciousness ethical awareness Questions to Reflect On - What hidden issues do you overlook? - How can you stay present without denial? A Different Perspective Ignoring underlying problems can lead to harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Live in the moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-in-the-moment/) [Living In The Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-in-the-moment/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Sanguine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanguine/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [There is no doubt that healthy-mindedness is inadequate as a philosophical doctrine, because the evil facts which it refuses positively to account for are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-is-no-doubt-that-healthy-mindedness-is-inadequate-as-a-2/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“There is no doubt that healthy-mindedness is inadequate as a philosophical doctrine, because the evil facts which it positively refuses to account for are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-is-no-doubt-that-healthy-mindedness-is-inadequate-as-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The engaged mind, illuminated by truth, awakens awareness; the engaged heart, affected by love, awakens passion. May I say once more - this essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/the-engaged-mind-illuminated-by-truth-awakens-awareness-the-engaged/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [I think the majority of the British people are still sanguine about the need for war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-major/i-think-the-majority-of-the-british-people-are-still-sanguine-about/) [John Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-major/) > [but a sanguine temper, though for ever expecting more good than occurs, does not always pay for its hopes by any proportionate depression. it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/but-a-sanguine-temper-though-for-ever-expecting-more-good-than-occurs/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [A picnic may well be a metaphor for life. The essentials for happiness are the right company, moderate if sanguine expectations and a reasonable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/a-picnic-may-well-be-a-metaphor-for-life-the-essentials-for-happiness/) [P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/) > [This sanguine coward, this bed-presser, this horseback-breaker, this huge hill of flesh!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-sanguine-coward-this-bed-presser-this-horseback-breaker-this/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I had now arrived at my seventeenth year, and had attained my full height, a fraction over six feet. I was well endowed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-bessemer/i-had-now-arrived-at-my-seventeenth-year-and-had-attained-my-full/) [Henry Bessemer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-bessemer/) > [Yea, though the breath of disappointment should chill the sanguine heart, Speedily gloweth it again, warmed by the live embers of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/yea-though-the-breath-of-disappointment-should-chill-the-sanguine/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I had always thought of myself as a sanguine person, quite light and airy. But for a long while, no one could have possibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-fraser/i-had-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-sanguine-person-quite-light-and/) [Elizabeth Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-fraser/) > [Your man with a thin skin, a vehement ambition, a scrupulous conscience, and a sanguine desire for rapid improvement is never a happy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/your-man-with-a-thin-skin-a-vehement-ambition-a-scrupulous-conscience/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [I decline the election. It has ever been my rule through life, to observe a proportion between my efforts and my objects. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/i-decline-the-election-it-has-ever-been-my-rule-through-life-to/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [My beer has been universally well-liked beyond my most sanguine expectations. Cannot serve half my customers, and they are increasing every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-molson/my-beer-has-been-universally-well-liked-beyond-my-most-sanguine/) John Molson > [O, the mulberry-tree is of trees the queen! Bare long after the rest are green; But as the time steals onwards, while none perceives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/o-the-mulberry-tree-is-of-trees-the-queen-bare-long-after-the-rest/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [We do not dwell in the Palace of Truth. But, as was mentioned to me not long since, "There is a time coming when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-heaviside/we-do-not-dwell-in-the-palace-of-truth-but-as-was-mentioned-to-me-not/) [Oliver Heaviside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-heaviside/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Backgrounds quotes > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [When you see how fragile and delicate life can be, all else fades into the background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-morasca/when-you-see-how-fragile-and-delicate-life-can-be-all-else-fades-into/) [Jenna Morasca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-morasca/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [Eventually the consumer will come to appreciate the editorial point of view of every different brand. User-generated content without editorial oversight will simply be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eisner/eventually-the-consumer-will-come-to-appreciate-the-editorial-point/) [Michael Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eisner/) > [I bring my classical training - some of it, but not all of it - and also my background and culture, to spirituals. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-battle/i-bring-my-classical-training-some-of-it-but-not-all-of-it-and-also/) [Kathleen Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-battle/) > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [I think it is a sin to look at another person as inferior to yourself because of race or because of ethnic background and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/i-think-it-is-a-sin-to-look-at-another-person-as-inferior-to-yourself/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [The thing that is making jazz healthy today is that people are coming out of other backgrounds - from rock, folk, from ethnic music.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-taylor/the-thing-that-is-making-jazz-healthy-today-is-that-people-are-coming/) Billy Taylor > [We do not have to be ashamed of what we are. As sentient beings we have wonderful backgrounds. These backgrounds may not be particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-do-not-have-to-be-ashamed-of-what-we-are-as-sentient-beings-we/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [People from my sort of background needed grammar schools to compete with children from privileged homes like Shirley Williams and Anthony Wedgwood Benn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/people-from-my-sort-of-background-needed-grammar-schools-to-compete/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Persons who have cleansed themselves of any transgression and who have shown their ability to deal with homosexual inclinations and put them in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/persons-who-have-cleansed-themselves-of-any-transgression-and-who/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [I come from a theater background, so I always like to dissect the scene and try to get some hint about what the author…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adina-porter/i-come-from-a-theater-background-so-i-always-like-to-dissect-the/) [Adina Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adina-porter/) > [And, of course, some SF is set close enough to here and now that Anglo and European do apply. Since many of the writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-schmidt/and-of-course-some-sf-is-set-close-enough-to-here-and-now-that-anglo/) [Stanley Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-schmidt/) > [For me, I try to look at a person's swagger and a little background on them if I already haven't liked them as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bivins/for-me-i-try-to-look-at-a-person-s-swagger-and-a-little-background-on/) [Michael Bivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bivins/) Browse all 1,648 Backgrounds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let sanguine healthy-mindedness do its best with its strange power of living in the moment and ignoring and forgetting, still the evil background is really there to be thought of, and the skull will grin in at the banquet.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/let-sanguine-healthy-mindedness-do-its-best-with-its-strange-power-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Backgrounds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/let-sanguine-healthy-mindedness-do-its-best-with-its-strange-power-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/414/william-james-228_backgrounds_let-sanguine-healthy-mindedness-do-its-b_1683571.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/414/william-james-228_backgrounds_let-sanguine-healthy-mindedness-do-its-b_1683571.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/414/william-james-228_backgrounds_let-sanguine-healthy-mindedness-do-its-b_1683571.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let sanguine healthy-mindedness do its best with its strange power of living in the moment and ignoring and…” — William James", "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": "William James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Let sanguine healthy-mindedness do its best...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/let-sanguine-healthy-mindedness-do-its-best-with-its-strange-power-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/let-sanguine-healthy-mindedness-do-its-best-with-its-strange-power-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 } } ] } ```