Reason's whole pleasure, all the joys of sense,
Lie in three words,—health, peace, and competence.
Happiness Quotes
Most happiness quotes online are cheerful. The sourced ones on this page often are not. Bertrand Russell wrote in Sceptical Essays (1928) that after enjoying ourselves, our greatest pleasure is preventing others from enjoying themselves. Macaulay’s History of England (1849) has the Puritan who hated bear-baiting not because it hurt the bear but because it pleased the spectators. Tom Robbins gave the most practical advice in a 2002 interview: the key to self-generated happiness is refusing to take yourself too seriously.
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive” is credited to Marcus Aurelius and flagged as misattributed. “No man is happy who does not think himself so” is credited to Publilius Syrus and marked disputed.
Follow pleasure, and then will pleasure flee,
Flee pleasure, and pleasure will follow thee.
I fly from pleasure, because pleasure has ceased to please: I am lonely because I am miserable.
The little pleasure of the game
Is from afar to view the flight.
Happiness was simply something that occurred in a well-regulated life.
How vainly seek
The selfish for that happiness denied
To aught but virtue!
Hold him alone truly fortunate who has ended his life in happy well-being.
My plenteous joys,
Wanton in fulness, seek to hide themselves
In drops of sorrow.
'Tis safer to be that which we destroy
Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.
Let us enjoy pleasure while we can; pleasure is never long enough.
We are never so happy, nor so unhappy, as we suppose ourselves to be.