--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think, whatever mortals crave, With…" description: "\"I think, whatever mortals crave, With impotent endeavor, A wreath--a rank--a throne--a grave-- The world goes round forever; I think that life is not t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/276/winthrop-mackworth-praed-38315_crave_i-think-whatever-mortals-crave-with-impo_2897142.jpg" --- # I think, whatever mortals crave, With impotent endeavor, A… ![“I think, whatever mortals crave, With impotent endeavor, A wreath--a rank--a throne--a grave-- The world goes round forever; I think that life is not too long, And therefore I determine, That many people read a song, Who will not read a sermon.” quote by Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/276/winthrop-mackworth-praed-38315_crave_i-think-whatever-mortals-crave-with-impo_2897142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/276/winthrop-mackworth-praed-38315_crave_i-think-whatever-mortals-crave-with-impo_2897142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/276/winthrop-mackworth-praed-38315_crave_i-think-whatever-mortals-crave-with-impo_2897142.jpg) > “I think, whatever mortals crave, With impotent endeavor, A wreath--a rank--a throne--a grave-- The world goes round forever; I think that life is not too long, And therefore I determine, That many people read a song, Who will not read a sermon.” [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is fleeting, so people seek lasting symbols—power, fame, death—yet often choose fleeting pleasures over deeper meaning. **In simple terms:** Life is short; people chase symbols instead of substance. Key Takeaway Seek deeper purpose over fleeting symbols. Themes mortality meaning human desire transience Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading poetry - reflecting on legacy - evaluating personal goals - choosing lasting impact Key Concepts existentialism symbolism ephemerality Questions to Reflect On - What symbols do you chase? - How can you find lasting meaning beyond fleeting pursuits? A Different Perspective Not all symbols hold true value; personal interpretation varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Endeavor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endeavor/) [Mortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortals/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/) [Sermon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sermon/) [Sermons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sermons/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Wreaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wreaths/) ## Related quotes > [“The good man never wrote or read a sermon, but talked to his people as one who would meet what was in them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macdonald-george/the-good-man-never-wrote-or-read-a-sermon-but-talked-to-his-people-as/) [MacDonald George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macdonald-george/) > [Poor mortals we who crave to have it so - our grief to be deathless when we are dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perses-of-thebes/poor-mortals-we-who-crave-to-have-it-so-our-grief-to-be-deathless/) Perses Of Thebes > [I contend that it's impossible to read the Sermon on the Mount and not come out against capital punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/i-contend-that-it-s-impossible-to-read-the-sermon-on-the-mount-and/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [Saying is one thing and doing is another; we are to consider the sermon and the preacher distinctly and apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/saying-is-one-thing-and-doing-is-another-we-are-to-consider-the/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Let us be very careful that we never exalt any minister, or sermon, or book, or friend above the Word of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/let-us-be-very-careful-that-we-never-exalt-any-minister-or-sermon-or/) [J. 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The judge was so curious about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/powers-hapgood-had-just-come-from-court-because-there-was-some-kind/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [If God is not with us, we do not want to continue. If the Sermon on the Mount is simply impractical, our mission work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-baker/if-god-is-not-with-us-we-do-not-want-to-continue-if-the-sermon-on-the/) [Heidi Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-baker/) > [it's not my job to preach a sermon. Art is anyhow a homily. My job is to speak in living images, not in arguments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/it-s-not-my-job-to-preach-a-sermon-art-is-anyhow-a-homily-my-job-is/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) ## More by Winthrop Mackworth Praed > [Apollo has peeped through the shutter, And awaken'd the witty and fair; The boarding-school belle's in a flutter, The twopenny post's in despair; The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/apollo-has-peeped-through-the-shutter-and-awaken-d-the-witty-and-fair/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) > [Dame Fortune is a fickle gipsy, And always blind, and often tipsy; Sometimes for years and years together, She 'll bless you with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/dame-fortune-is-a-fickle-gipsy-and-always-blind-and-often-tipsy/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) > [I think while zealots fast and frown, And fight for two or seven, That there are fifty roads to town, And rather more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/i-think-while-zealots-fast-and-frown-and-fight-for-two-or-seven-that/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) > [Twelve years ago I made a mock Of filthy trades and traffics; I considered what they meant by stock; I wrote delightful sapphics; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/twelve-years-ago-i-made-a-mock-of-filthy-trades-and-traffics-i/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) > [Still and pale Thou movest in thy silver veil, Queen of the night! the filmy shroud Of many a mild, transparent cloud Hides, yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/still-and-pale-thou-movest-in-thy-silver-veil-queen-of-the-night-the/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) > [Woman! thou loveliest gift that here below Man can receive, or Providence bestow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/woman-thou-loveliest-gift-that-here-below-man-can-receive-or/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) > [Of science and logic he chatters, As fine and as fast as he can; Though I am no judge of such matters, I'm sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/of-science-and-logic-he-chatters-as-fine-and-as-fast-as-he-can-though/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) > [Hail, blest Confusion! here are met All tongues, and times, and faces; The Lancers flirt with Juliet, The Brahmin talks of races.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/hail-blest-confusion-here-are-met-all-tongues-and-times-and-faces-the/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) > [The Baptist found him far too deep; The Deist sighed with saving sorrow; And the lean Levite went to sleep, And dreamed of tasting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/the-baptist-found-him-far-too-deep-the-deist-sighed-with-saving/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) > [And oh! I shall find how, day by day, All thoughts and things look older; How the laugh of pleasure grows less gay, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/and-oh-i-shall-find-how-day-by-day-all-thoughts-and-things-look-older/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) > [I remember, I remember how my childhood fleeted by. The mirth of its December, and the warmth of its July.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/i-remember-i-remember-how-my-childhood-fleeted-by-the-mirth-of-its/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) [Explore all 12 Winthrop Mackworth Praed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) ## More Crave quotes > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Don't crave fame, do what you do and just apply. I don't think many of them here today are that interested in fashion. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/don-t-crave-fame-do-what-you-do-and-just-apply-i-don-t-think-many-of/) [Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/) > [“i crave goddamn difficult”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/i-crave-goddamn-difficult/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [Regardless of what I do, whether I write a book or whether I act or whether I host, I'll always do stand-up comedy because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-mandel/regardless-of-what-i-do-whether-i-write-a-book-or-whether-i-act-or/) [Howie Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-mandel/) > [I don’t know, I don’t know that I’m missing anything. I just think too much sometimes. Sometimes I’m even happy because I’m so engaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-buckley/i-don-t-know-i-don-t-know-that-i-m-missing-anything-i-just-think-too/) [Jeff Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-buckley/) > [There are times when born hollandaise heads, as well as nouveaux turbot freaks and recherche escargotphiles alike crave the saignet abundance of a New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gael-greene/there-are-times-when-born-hollandaise-heads-as-well-as-nouveaux/) [Gael Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gael-greene/) > [“I never met a pig I didn't like. All pigs are intelligent, emotional, and sensitive souls. They all love company. They all crave contact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sy-montgomery/i-never-met-a-pig-i-didn-t-like-all-pigs-are-intelligent-emotional/) [Sy Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sy-montgomery/) > [“A spark of every fire we seek is already within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/a-spark-of-every-fire-we-seek-is-already-within-us/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“Why are we doomed to crave most that which we cannot have?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-are-we-doomed-to-crave-most-that-which-we-cannot-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Actually, if I don't eat healthy food I don't feel good. For me, I crave healthy food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cavallari/actually-if-i-don-t-eat-healthy-food-i-don-t-feel-good-for-me-i-crave/) [Kristin Cavallari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cavallari/) > [Human nature is full of riddles; . . . one of those riddles is: how is it that people who have been crushed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/human-nature-is-full-of-riddles-one-of-those-riddles-is-how-is-it/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [The person we crave most to be with are the one who destroy us quickest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/the-person-we-crave-most-to-be-with-are-the-one-who-destroy-us/) Hemantsmarty > [Personally I crave not for 'independence', which I do not understand, but I long for freedom from the English yoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/personally-i-crave-not-for-independence-which-i-do-not-understand-but/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I crave a love so deep that the ocean would be jealous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie/i-crave-a-love-so-deep-that-the-ocean-would-be-jealous/) [Maggie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie/) Browse all 504 Crave quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think, whatever mortals crave, With impotent endeavor, A wreath--a rank--a throne--a grave-- The world goes round forever; I think that life is not too long, And therefore I determine, That many people read a song, Who will not read a sermon.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Winthrop Mackworth Praed" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/i-think-whatever-mortals-crave-with-impotent-endeavor-a-wreath-a-rank/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/i-think-whatever-mortals-crave-with-impotent-endeavor-a-wreath-a-rank/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/276/winthrop-mackworth-praed-38315_crave_i-think-whatever-mortals-crave-with-impo_2897142.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/276/winthrop-mackworth-praed-38315_crave_i-think-whatever-mortals-crave-with-impo_2897142.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/276/winthrop-mackworth-praed-38315_crave_i-think-whatever-mortals-crave-with-impo_2897142.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think, whatever mortals crave, With impotent endeavor, A wreath--a rank--a throne--a grave-- The world…” — Winthrop Mackworth Praed", "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": "Winthrop Mackworth Praed", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think, whatever mortals crave, With...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/i-think-whatever-mortals-crave-with-impotent-endeavor-a-wreath-a-rank/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/i-think-whatever-mortals-crave-with-impotent-endeavor-a-wreath-a-rank/#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 } } ] } ```