“ It is clear that men accept an immediate pain rather than an immediate pleasure, but only because they expect a greater pleasure in the future. ”
W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage (1915). copy citation
| Author | W. Somerset Maugham |
|---|---|
| Source | Of Human Bondage |
| Topic | pain pleasure |
| Date | 1915 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/351/pg351-images.html |
Context
“"But have you never known people do things they didn't want to instead of things they did?"
"No. You put your question foolishly. What you mean is that people accept an immediate pain rather than an immediate pleasure. The objection is as foolish as your manner of putting it. It is clear that men accept an immediate pain rather than an immediate pleasure, but only because they expect a greater pleasure in the future. Often the pleasure is illusory, but their error in calculation is no refutation of the rule. You are puzzled because you cannot get over the idea that pleasures are only of the senses; but, child, a man who dies for his country dies because he likes it as surely as a man eats pickled cabbage because he likes it.”
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