Quotes
Quotes about Desire
Gather a shell from the strewn beach
And listen at its lips:they sigh
The same desire and mystery,
The echo of the whole sea's speech.
White sail upon the ocean verge,
Just crimsoned by the setting sun,
Thou hast thy port beyond the surge,
Thy happy homeward course to run
And winged hope, with heart of fire,
To gain the bliss of thy desire.
The desire of love, Joy:
The desire of life, Peace:
The desire of the soul, Heaven:
The desire of God ... a flame-white secret forever.
Land of Heart's Desire,
Where beauty has no ebb, decay no flood,
But joy is wisdom, Time an endless song.
We desire nothing so much as what we ought not to have.
Agesilaus was very fond of his children; and it is reported that once toying with them he got astride upon a reed as upon a horse, and rode about the room; and being seen by one of his friends, he desired him not to speak of it till he had children of his own.
No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.
Some might consider him as too fond of fame; for the desire of glory clings even to the best men longer than any other passion.
Heav'n but the Vision of fulfill'd Desire,
And Hell the Shadow of a Soul on fire.
I would have nobody to control me; I would be absolute: and who but I? Now, he that is absolute can do what he likes; he that can do what he likes can take his pleasure; he that can take his pleasure can be content; and he that can be content has no more to desire. So the matter's over; and come what will come, I am satisfied.
The gratitude of most men is but a secret desire of receiving greater benefits.
My desire is... that mine adversary had written a book.
The grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets.
If I have done well, and as is fitting,... it is that which I desired; but if slenderly and meanly, it is that which I could attain unto.
In every major artist there seems to be a conflict between the urge to swallow everything and the desire to select and shape
Do not desire to follow fame, that foolish fire.
You desert folk live in wide space and feel a desire to fill it
You know that the desire for money is infantile? It goes back to a baby's playing with its own mess. Pleasure in handling fecal matter
The things most thoroughly prohibited are the things most deeply desired
It's the wish, the desire, that matters, and the truth means nothing
I had no desire to go home again, but I could import temporary fractions of my home to wherever I was
At fifteen my mind was set on learning. At thirty my character had been formed. At forty I had no more perplexities. At fifty I knew the Mandate of Heaven. At sixty I was at ease with whatever I heard. At seventy I could follow my heart's desire without transgressing moral principles.
[O]n the contrary, love is not love at all if a girl desires to marry a man for his money alone, but that, in her opinion, riches were a vain thing, and true love only the affection which can stand the test of separation...
Men govern nothing with more difficulty than their tongues, and can moderate their desires more than their words.
It sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents.
