Purpose quotes
3K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside purpose — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"People don't want lots and lots of single purpose devices. They do not want to have to learn how to set up something for photos, another thing for music, another thing for video."
"I do not believe making money in order to consume goods is mankind's sole purpose on this planet."
"There will come a time when everybody will know why, for what purpose, there is all this suffering, and there will be no more mysteries. But now we must live ... we must work, just work!"
"So we must lay it down that the association which is a state exists not for the purpose of living together but for the sake of noble actions. Those who contribute most to this kind of association are for that very reason entitled to a larger share in the state than those who, though they may be equal or even superior in free birth and in family, are inferior in the virtue that belongs to a citizen. Similarly they are entitled to a larger share than those who are superior in riches but inferior in virtue."
"The purpose creates the machine."
"The most depraved type of human being ... (is) the man without a purpose."
"An entire life of solitude contradicts the purpose of our being, since death itself is scarcely an idea of more terror."
"Do you guess I have some intricate purpose? Well I have, for the Fourth-month showers have, and the mica on the side of a rock has."
"A virus has three purposes: to duplicate, to infiltrate and to spread from one host to the next. Ultimately, even a single virus can shut down an entire system."
"If you've ever felt inspired by a purpose or calling, you know the feeling of spirit working through you."
"My performances may have elements that some may find entertaining, but that's not my main purpose."
"We should be in harmony with our own consciousness; our mind, body, and soul should be one in interest and in purpose. And in that unified condition, we can actually express that natural innate love that we have found in our own life in everything we do in the world."
"There is really no insurmountable barrier save your own inherent weakness of purpose."
"Woe to him who saw no more sense in his life, no aim, no purpose, and therefore no point in carrying on."
"Americanism is a question of spirit, of conviction and purpose, not creed or birthplaces. The test of our worth is the service we render."
"There is no sea more dangerous than the ocean of practical politics none in which there is more need of good pilotage and of a single, unfaltering purpose when the waves rise high."
"Of moral purpose I see no trace in Nature. That is an article of exclusively human manufacture and very much to our credit."
"I deem it the duty of every man to devote a certain portion of his income for charitable purposes; and that it is his further duty to see it so applied and to do the most good for which it is capable."
"Our purpose is to consciously, deliberately evolve towards a wiser, more liberated and luminous state of being."
"The only purpose of customer service is to change feelings."
