QuoteProject
No sane man can afford to dispense with debilitating pleasures. No ascetic can be considered reliably sane.
A. J. Liebling
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Pleasures are essential for a balanced and sane life; rejecting them completely can lead to an unstable mindset.

A. J. Liebling emphasizes the importance of pleasures in maintaining mental health and stability. The quote suggests that eschewing pleasures, as an ascetic might, can lead to a form of insanity, indicating that a sane person recognizes the need for enjoyment and fulfillment in life.

Themes

PleasureSanityAsceticismLifeHappiness

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about work-life balance, one could use this quote to emphasize the need for relaxation and enjoyment.

More from A. J. Liebling

The function of the press in society is to inform, but its role in society is to make money.
A. J. LieblingRead
The primary requisite for writing well about food is a good appetite. Without this, it is impossible to accumulate, within the allotted span, enough experience of eating to have anything worth setting down.
A. J. LieblingRead
A city with one newspaper... is like a man with one eye, and often the eye is glass.
A. J. LieblingRead
I take a grave view of the press. It is the weak slat under the bed of democracy
A. J. LieblingRead
A city with one newspaper, or with a morning and an evening paper under one ownership, is like a man with one eye, and often the eye is glass.
A. J. LieblingRead
Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.
A. J. LieblingRead

Similar quotes

The world is full of things that upset people. But most of us deal with it and move on and don't try and burn the planet down.
Salman RushdieRead
You see, there's the way things seemed and then there's the way things were and one is so often the total reverse of the other.
Alan MooreRead
How characteristic of your perverse heart that longs only for what happens to be out of reach.
Pierre Choderlos De LaclosRead
The poet Melvin B. Tolson once said "A civilization is judged only in its decline." That made sense to me. I would imagine the same is true for poets and tennis players.
Nikki GiovanniRead
To take revenge halfheartedly is to court disaster; either condemn or crown your hatred.
Pierre CorneilleRead
Each man's life represents a road toward himself.
Hermann HesseRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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