If you pursue good with labor, the labor passes away but the good remains; if you pursue evil with pleasure, the pleasure passes away and the evil remains.

The saying contrasts the fleeting nature of effort and pleasure with the lasting moral residue of one’s choices. Virtuous action may demand toil, sacrifice, or discomfort, but those costs are temporary; what endures is the “good” achieved—character strengthened, justice done, benefits conferred. Vice, by contrast, often arrives wrapped in immediate gratification, yet the enjoyment evaporates quickly, leaving behind enduring harm: guilt, damaged relationships, corrupted habits, or social consequences. The aphorism thus argues for evaluating actions by their long-term moral remainder rather than their short-term sensations, aligning with the classical ethical emphasis on virtue and the formation of stable character over momentary appetite.