Ethics is in origin the art of recommending to others the sacrifices required for cooperation with oneself. 713
The place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf. 639
Many a man will have the courage to die gallantly, but will not have the courage to say, or even to think, that the cause for which he is asked to die is an unworthy one. 2.06K
If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have a paradise in a few years. 631
If all our happiness is bound up entirely in our personal circumstances it is difficult not to demand of life more than it has to give. 663
I’ve made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I’m convinced of the opposite. 706
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. 616
Contempt for happiness is usually contempt for other people’s happiness, and is an elegant disguise for hatred of the human race. 2.39K
Man needs, for his happiness, not only the enjoyment of this or that, but hope and enterprise and change. 1.2K
Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. 838
Dogmatism and skepticism are both, in a sense, absolute philosophies; one is certain of knowing, the other of not knowing. What philosophy should dissipate is certainty, whether of knowledge or ignorance. 648
Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. 2.63K
