By Maxime Lagacé
Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.
Top 10 Quotes – Short – Famous – Cheap – More – Takeaways – Further Readings
Here are 78 of the best pleasure quotes.
And you’ll discover amazing authors:
- Leo Tolstoy
- Alan Watts
- Søren Kierkegaard
- Aristotle
- Krishnamurti
- C.S. Lewis
- Bruce Lee
- And many more
These quotes and authors will make you realize one vital thing:
Life is not only about pleasure.
It’s about meaning, purpose, doing hard things, connection, and so much more.
So I hope you’ll love the quotes as much as I do.
Top 10 Pleasure Quotes
The best pleasures are those for which we do not plan. Alan Watts
Life is given to us not only for pleasures. Nikolai Gogol
Happiness is pleasure without regret. Leo Tolstoy
It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them. Epictetus
Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it. Søren Kierkegaard
The day a man becomes superior to pleasure, he will also be superior to pain. Seneca
The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of pleasures. Luc de Clapiers
The greatest pleasures are only narrowly separated from disgust. Marcus Tullius Cicero
From pleasure appear sadness and fear. He who is free from pleasures does not have either fear or sadness. Buddhist saying
Pleasure is fireworks. Inner peace is fireplace. Maxime Lagacé
Short Pleasure Quotes
The man of perfected self-mastery avoids pleasures. Aristotle
Variety is the soul of pleasure. Aphra Behn
To torture a man you have to know his pleasures. Stanislaw Lem
It is always by way of pain one arrives at pleasure. Marquis de Sade
God whispers in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain. C.S. Lewis
Thought is responsible for fear. Thought is responsible for pleasure. Jiddu Krishnamurti
The mind craves pleasure, and in doing so creates pain. James Pierce
The relentless pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain, leads to pain. Anna Lembke
Society rebranded self destruction as pleasure. Bryan Johnson
Your desire for pleasure or happiness makes you unhappy. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Inner peace is when you don’t seek pleasure or avoid pain, you take what comes. Maxime Lagacé
A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do. Walter Bagehot
Pleasure never lives up to the idea of pleasure. Dylan O’Sullivan
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. Aristotle
Famous Pleasure Quotes
Do not seek pleasure for its own sake. Miyamoto Musashi
The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding. Leonardo da Vinci
The greatest of all pleasures is the pleasure of learning. Aristotle
The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure but to avoid pain. Aristotle
Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably. C.S. Lewis
I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy. C.S. Lewis
Pleasure is the flower that fades, remembrance is the lasting perfume. Bruce Lee
Pleasure is found first in anticipation, later in memory. Gustave Flaubert
The human soul degrades itself when it is overpowered by pleasure or pain. Marcus Aurelius
I am one of these strange fuckers who finds great pleasure in being alone. Charles Bukowski
Pleasure is the first good. It is the beginning of every choice and every aversion. It is the absence of pain in the body and of troubles in the soul. Epicurus
Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within. Eckhart Tolle
Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another. Madonna Ciccone
Do not seek pleasure everywhere, but always be ready to find it. John Ruskin
Illusion is the first of all pleasures. Voltaire
Quotes About The Downside Of Pleasure (Cheap Pleasures)
The young love pleasures. The old love calm. The wise love what happens. Maxime Lagacé
Pleasure-seeking is a race to rockbottom. Dan Goldfield
Addiction is a progressive narrowing of the things that bring you pleasure. Andrew Huberman
In an age of abundance, the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake leads to addiction. Naval Ravikant
We get such a kick out of looking forward to pleasures and rushing ahead to meet them that we can’t slow down enough to enjoy them when they come. Alan Watts
Self-discipline is when the desire to become the highest version of yourself outweighs the desire for cheap pleasures. Dan Koe
The paradox is that hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, leads to anhedonia, which is the inability to enjoy pleasure of any kind. Anna Lembke
The people who will be the most successful in modern times are the people who can create their own internal buffers and control their relationships with pleasures. Andrew Huberman
Maturity is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term values. Joshua L. Liebman
The majority of men are discontented with their life, and seek the pleasures of the flesh. But the flesh can never be satisfied, and men… seek oblivion in smoking or drunkenness. Leo Tolstoy
Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures. Thomas Aquinas
A man who is master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure. Oscar Wilde
The disciplined invest in their future. The impulsive invest in fleeting pleasure. Maxime Lagacé
The path of pleasure never leads to glory. Robert Greene
When we lack purpose, we chase pleasure. Greg McKeown
More Inspiring Quotes About Pleasure
No pleasure is evil in itself; but the means by which certain pleasures are gained bring pains many times greater than the pleasures. Epicurus
Power is pleasure; and pleasure sweetens pain. William Hazlitt
Pleasure is an important component of the quality of life, but by itself it does not bring happiness. Pleasure helps to maintain order, but by itself cannot create a new order in consciousness. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The pleasure principle asserts that the human mind does everything it can to seek out pleasure and avoid pain. Patrick King (Read People Like a Book)
We tire of those pleasures we take, but never of those we give. John Petit-Senn
Pleasure is, and must remain, a side-effect or by-product, and is destroyed and spoiled to the degree to which it is made a goal in itself. Viktor E. Frankl
Curiosity is a gift, a capacity of pleasure in knowing, which if you destroy, you make yourself cold and dull. John Ruskin
The most solid pleasure in this life is the empty pleasure of illusion. Giacomo Leopardi
Anticipation of pleasure is, in itself, a very considerable pleasure. David Hume
Real pleasure comes from overcoming challenges, feeling confidence in your abilities, gaining fluency in skills, and experiencing the power this brings. You develop patience. Boredom no longer signals the need for distraction, but rather the need for new challenges to conquer. Robert Greene
We have long been moving into a world of increased convenience and pleasure, at the cost of strong and local tight-knit communities — which has led to profound isolation and loneliness. Zach Rausch
Some mathematician said that pleasure lies not in discovering the truth but in searching for it. Leo Tolstoy
Make sure that the power within stays safe and free from assault, superior to pleasure and pain, doing nothing randomly or dishonestly. Marcus Aurelius
Calmness and humility provide pleasures which are not accessible to the selfish and the proud. Leo Tolstoy
Even when we think we’re seeking pleasure, we’re actually driven by the desire to free ourselves from the pain of wanting. Nir Eyal
If we cannot meet our everyday surroundings with equanimity and pleasure and grow each day in some useful direction, then… life is on the road toward misfortune, misery and destruction. Luther Burbank
Happiness is different from pleasure. Happiness has something to do with struggling and enduring and accomplishing. George A. Sheehan
Pleasure is not a problem. Dopamine is not a problem. Too much pleasure experienced too often without a prior requirement for effort in order to achieve that pleasure/dopamine is terrible for us however. It lowers our baseline level of dopamine and the potency of all experience. Andrew Huberman
Time is passing. Each day is a glorious opportunity to live and enjoy. Today I will let the past die – all the undone things, all the misjudged things… Today, there are new pleasures, new challenges, new magic. Ruth Carter Stapleton
I wouldn’t say entertainment is bad. But a model of life in which I have a right to be entertained all the time seems to me not to be a promising one. Right? David Foster Wallace
If pleasures are greatest in anticipation, just remember that this is also true of trouble. Elbert Hubbard
One of the many pleasures of old age is giving things up. Malcolm Muggeridge
A man will renounce any pleasures you like but he will not give up his suffering. George Gurdjieff
Pleasure and pain are only aspects of the mind. Our essential nature is happiness. Ramana Maharshi
Conclusion
At first you seek pleasure. Then you crave connection. Eventually, you choose presence. Maxime Lagacé
Key Takeaways
- Don’t seek pleasures. Seek to be surrounded by people you love instead. And a life devoted to pleasures is heading straight into misery. The best pleasures are those for which we do not plan.
- Become superior. A worthwhile life is one where you see the journey as more important than the summit. The day a man becomes superior to pleasure, he will also be superior to pain.
- Master yourself. One wise man once told me that the goal of life was to better ourselves. The day a man becomes superior to pleasure, he will also be superior to pain.
- Don’t avoid pain. Trying to avoid pain at all costs will make you fragile. Plus, who controls what life throws at us? No one. The relentless pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain, leads to pain.
- Love what happens. Remember “amor fati”. Or “love your fate”. Indeed, the ones who love what happens are the ones truly at peace with life. The young love pleasures. The old love calm. The wise love what happens.
Further Readings
- Topic: Happiness
- 61 Self-Care Quotes To Lift Your Spirits
- 100 Laughter Quotes To Brighten Your Day
- 80 Gratitude Quotes To Make You More Thankful
I hope you enjoyed these great quotes about pleasure. If you did, please share them with a friend today!
Are you seeking pleasure daily? Or are you aware of the dangers of its abundance? What’s your favorite pleasure quote? And remember: words can transform your life, if you find the right ones.
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