He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.

The saying expresses a classic ethical insight: dissatisfaction is often a habit of mind rather than a condition imposed by circumstances. If a person cannot practice contentment with what is presently available, merely acquiring more—wealth, status, possessions, or opportunities—will not resolve the underlying restlessness. In a Socratic frame, the remark aligns with the broader Greek philosophical emphasis on self-mastery and the examination of desires: happiness depends less on external goods than on the ordering of one’s wants and judgments. It also anticipates later Stoic and Cynic themes, warning that unchecked desire expands to meet any new attainment, keeping fulfillment perpetually out of reach.