Hedonism Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old hedonism quotes, hedonism sayings, and hedonism proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Unless and until a man does not stop wasting his energy in seeking sensual pleasures, he will not be able to achieve anything substantial. Sam Veda
The difference between egoistic hedonism and altruistic hedonism is but an adjective. John Stack IV
He who on conviction does and pursues and chooses what is pleasant would be thought to be better than one who does so as a result not of calculation but of incontinence; for he is easier to cure since he may be persuaded to change his mind. Aristotle
He that loves pleasure must for pleasure fall. Christopher Marlowe
The desert is a spiritual place, we vaguely understand, and the sea the mere playground of our hedonism. Tim Winton
You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred. Woody Allen
The chief part of a person's happiness consists of pleasure Thomas More
Men first feel necessity, then look for utility, next attend to comfort, still later amuse themselves with pleasure, thence grow dissolute in luxury, and finally go mad and waste their substance.  Giambattista Vico
We know well that this truth risks being contradicted by the hedonism of the so-called well-off societies: Life is exalted as long as it's pleasant, but one tends to not respect it any more when it is sick or damaged. Pope Benedict XVI
Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend, Before we too into the Dust descend. Omar Khayyam
It may well be that if mankind could draw up a hedonistic balance-sheet, the pleasures of mundane existence would turn out to be greater than its sufferings. Arthur Balfour
Without a moral framework, there is nothing left but immediate self-indulgence by some and the path of least resistance by others. Neither can sustain a free society. Thomas Sowell
I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it. Rita Mae Brown
As to the rout that is made about people who are ruined by extravagance, it is no matter to the nation that some individuals suffer. When so much general productive exertion is the consequence of luxury, the nation does not care though there are debtors; nay, they would not care though their creditors were there too. Samuel Johnson
Stranger, here you do well to tarry; here our highest good is pleasure. Epicurus
Pleasure is the only thing one should live for, nothing ages like happiness. Oscar Wilde
There are people who cannot enjoy a pleasure unless they have first persuaded themselves that it is a duty. They are perhaps the most confirmed hedonists of all, for they are not content to enjoy without the added delight of conscious rectitude. John William Mackail
Christian hedonists don't discount suffering, they just don't give up until they find the gain in loss. Beth Moore
When enough is not enough, a Hedonist is born. Sukant Ratnakar
Retirement requires the invention of a new hedonism, not a return to the hedonism of youth. Mason Cooley
You can't build marriage on a foundation of selfish hedonism, because that would be to promise people only roses, and marriage is also thorns. Alan Keyes
We have had enough, once and for all, of Hedonism--the gloomy philosophy which says that Pleasure is the only good. C. S. Lewis
We recognize pleasure as the first good innate in us, and from pleasure we begin every act of choice and avoidance, and to pleasure we return again, using the feeling as the standard by which we judge every good. Epicurus
To a man of pleasure every moment appears to be lost, which partakes not of the vivacity of movement. Joseph Addison
Life admits not of delays; when pleasure can be had, it is fit to catch it: every hour takes away part of the things that please us, and perhaps part of our disposition to be pleased. Samuel Johnson
We are certainly in a common class with the beasts; every action of animal life is concerned with seeking bodily pleasure and avoiding pain. Saint Augustine
Pleasure is a hedonistic reflex, a burning impulse to abandon rational thought altogether and immerse oneself in the moment. Gene Wallenstein
Pleasure, like a kind of bait, is thrown before everything which is really bad, and easily allures greedy souls to the hook of perdition. Epictetus
The moral cannibalism of all hedonist and altruist doctrines lies in the premise that the happiness of one man necessitates the injury of another. Ayn Rand
Hedonism can be a rational response to a difficult life. Phillip Lopate
Bodily pleasure is unworthy of man's superior endowments, and ought to be despised and spurned; and if there be any one who sets some value on sensual gratification, he should carefully keep it within due limits. Thus food and the care of the body should be ordered with reference to health and strength, not to sensual pleasure. Indeed, if we will only bear in mind what excellence and dignity belong to human nature, we shall understand how base it is to give one's self up to luxury, and to live voluptuously and wantonly, and how honorable it is to live frugally, chastely, circumspectly, soberly. Cicero
Lust for possession and greed has ravaged the soul of humanity like a great cancer, metastasizing throughout society in the form of a nouveau post-human, consumer hedonism. Bryant McGill
A man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry. Unknown Author
If we have nothing to do but service our own pleasure - because society has taught us that's all we're worth and we're exiled from positions of authority from which we could actually shape society - then we just become hedonists. Eventually, despite how great it may look on Saturday night, come Monday morning there's just purposelessness. Clive Barker
This generation... they have a different attitude. Instead of sitting and watching something, they want to be a part of it - they're very hedonistic and sensual. Steve Wynn
I succumbed to hedonism. Simon Le Bon
The struggle which is not joyous is the wrong struggle. The joy of the struggle is not hedonism and hilarity, but the sense of purpose, achievement and dignity. Germaine Greer
Denying themselves sweets and fatty foods, they cultivate a taste for fine wines and locally produced cheese. This is how we live: asceticism by day and hedonism by night, giving each god its due in its season. One R. R. Reno
I think self-destructiveness is given a really bad rap. I think it can also mean self-reflection and poetic sensiblity. It can mean empathy, hedonism, a libertarianism. Courtney Love
I do not understand how you can associate abortion with an idea of hedonism or the good life. Italo Calvino
Hedonism, as any puritan can tell you, never leads to virtue. If we could all set pleasure aside and eat what's good for us, our problems would all go away. (Good luck with that.) Mark Schatzker
We have had enough, once and for all, of Hedonism the gloomy philosophy which says that Pleasure is the only good. C.S. Lewis
A new Hedonism that was to recreate life and to save it from that harsh uncomely puritanism that is having, in our own day, its curious revival. It was to have its service of the intellect, certainly, yet it was never to accept any theory or system that would involve the sacrifice of any mode of passionate experience. Oscar Wilde
Momentary pleasures of hedonism are distinct from deeper and more lasting satisfaction; and in order to achieve such satisfaction, we need to reflect on who we are and what our lives are for. We cannot be fully human without thinking about what being human means. Eva Hoffman
Hedonic adaptation has the power to extinguish our enjoyment of the world. Because of adaptation, we take our life and what we have for granted rather than delighting in them. Negative visualization, though, is a powerful antidote to hedonic adaptation. By consciously thinking about the loss of what we have, we can regain our appreciation of it, and with this regained appreciation we can revitalize our capacity for joy” William B. Irvine
Take me to the driest county in the most conservative state, and in two hours this determined hedonist will find you all the drugs, whores, and booze you'll need to pass an eventful weekend. Dan Savage
Personally, I am a hedonistic reader; I have never read a book merely because it was ancient. I read books for the aesthetic emotions they offer me, and I ignore the commentaries and criticism. Jorge Luis Borges