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Quotes from The Conquest of Happiness — Bertrand Russell

1872–1970

← All quotes by Bertrand Russell

9 quotes

Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.

The Conquest of Happiness (1930)

If either the absence or the presence of novelty is equally annoying, it would hardly seem that either could be the true cause of despair.

The Conquest of Happiness (1930)

There are two motives for reading a book: one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.

The Conquest of Happiness (1930)

Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.

The Conquest of Happiness (1930)

Drunkenness, for example, is temporary suicide: the happiness that it brings is merely negative, a momentary cessation of unhappiness.

The Conquest of Happiness (1958)

To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.

The Conquest of Happiness (1930)

Envy is the basis of democracy.

The Conquest of Happiness (1930)

The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.

The Conquest of Happiness (1930)

One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important, and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster. If I were a medical man, I should prescribe a holiday to any patient who considered his work important.

The Conquest of Happiness (1930)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Bertrand Russell (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.