The Intention That Man Should Be Happy Is Not In

“No man is happy who does not think himself so.”

“If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.”

“Happiness is a quality of the soul...not a function of one's material circumstances.”

“My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose.”

“Our possibilities of happiness are already restricted by our constitution. Unhappiness is much less difficult to experience. We are threatened with suffering from three directions: from our own body, which is doomed to decay and dissolution and which cannot even do without pain and anxiety as warning signals; from the external world, which may rage against us with overwhelming and merciless forces of destruction; and finally from our relations to other men. The suffering which comes from this last source is perhaps more painful to us than any other.”

“The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection.”