QuoteProject
Attainment is followed by neglect, possession by disgust, and the malicious remark of the Greek epigrammatist on marriage may be applied to many another course of life, that its two days of happiness are the first and the last
Samuel Johnson
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Success often leads to neglect and dissatisfaction, highlighting the transient nature of happiness in life.

This quote by Samuel Johnson reflects on the nature of human pursuits and the fleeting moments of joy that they can bring. It suggests that despite the attainment of goals or possessions, there can be a subsequent sense of neglect and disgust, indicating that true contentment is often momentary. The analogy to marriage implies that many life experiences, like successful endeavors, may provide happiness only at the beginning and the end, emphasizing a cycle of fulfillment that is all too brief.

Themes

HappinessTransienceSuccessNeglectLife

In practice

Example use cases

During a motivational speech about the journey of success and its challenges.

More from Samuel Johnson

To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
Samuel JohnsonRead
He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.
Samuel JohnsonRead
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
Samuel JohnsonRead
Fly-fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.
Samuel JohnsonRead
When any anxiety or gloom of the mind takes hold of you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaining; but exert yourselves to hide it, and by endeavoring to hide it you drive it away.
Samuel JohnsonRead
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.
Samuel JohnsonRead

Similar quotes

Nothing that isn't a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as inconsistency.
Joseph AddisonRead
Cicero is dead! Cicero is born! The laughter has filled me, filled me so very completely. I am the laughter. I am the jester. The soul that has served as my constant companion for so long has breached the veil of the Void finally and forever. It is now in me. It is me. The world has seen the last of Cicero the man. Behold Cicero, Fool of Hearts - laughter incarnate!
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
God does not know whether a skin is black or white, He sees only souls.
Katherine Anne PorterRead
Laughter on American television has taken the place of the chorus in Greek tragedy. In other countries, the business of laughing is left to the viewers. Here, their laughter is put on the screen, integrated into the show. It is the screen that is laughing and having a good time. You are simply left alone with your consternation.
Jean BaudrillardRead
There are an awful lot of people who despise government precisely because it opened the door for common citizenship for people of all races and all natures in the United States.
Taylor BranchRead
Patience and boredom are closely related. Boredom, a certain kind of boredom, is really impatience. You don't like the way things are, they aren't interesting enough for you, so you deccide- and boredom is a decision-that you are bored.
Bertrand RussellRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.