It’s an interesting combination: Having a great fear of being alone, and having a desperate need for solitude and the solitary experience. That’s always been a tug of war for me. 827
The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances. 676
There is nothing, Sir, too little for so little a creature as man. It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible. 628
Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues impracticable, and others extremely difficult. 655
Of course, to have money is just great because you can do what you think is important to you. I always was a rich person because money’s not related to happiness. 658
The happiness of most people is not ruined by great catastrophes or fatal errors, but by the repetition of slowly destructive little things. 713
In order to have great happiness you have to have great pain and unhappiness – otherwise how would you know when you’re happy? 2.1K
No student ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him: it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required, that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction. 664
King Louis Philippe once said to me that he attributed the great success of the British nation in political life to their talking politics after dinner. 2.04K
Almost no one is foolish enough to imagine that he automatically deserves great success in any field of activity; yet almost everyone believes that he automatically deserves success in marriage. 651
