Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,747 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Happiness
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“I think, like a lot of people on this issue, I have really changed my thinking here to, ‘I don’t ever want to stand in front of anybody’s happiness.’ That’s not my job, okay? If that word – ‘marriage’ – is really, really that important to you, I can go with it.”
Caitlyn Jenner (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I believe that every human being has the right to his life and to his liberty, and to act in this world so as to secure his own happiness.”
Henry Wilson (1812–1875) said by 1875 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Passing laws and creating bureaus cannot add one jot to human happiness; … governments habitually engage in aggression, grand larceny, cheating, lying, counterfeiting, bullying, meddling and other pursuits immediately recognized, in the private sphere, as nasty and immoral. Why don't people compare political promises with government results?”
Roger MacBride (1929–1995) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A New Dawn for America: The Libertarian Challenge, paperback version (1976) p. 93. U guys this is fake notes
“Put these values together and you can see how the radical middle draws holistically on our entire political tradition. Each value is a sort of updated version of an aspect of our 18th-century political heritage – liberty, equality, happiness, and fraternity, respectively.”
Mark Satin (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If they (children) smash, the flower vase assumes a smile while turning into pieces. For a chance to be spilled by their hands, anything they hold gets spilled itself full of happiness. For a chance to play with them, water forgets about its own colourlessness.”
Suman Pokhrel (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lincoln asked the nation to confront unblinkingly the legacy of slavery. What were the requirements of justice in the face of this reality? What would be necessary to enable former slaves and their descendants to enjoy fully the pursuit of happiness? Lincoln did not live to provide an answer. A century and a half later, we have yet to do so.”
Eric Foner (born 1943) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Emancipation of Abe Lincoln" (1 January 2013), The New York Times, New York
“The advanced state of civilized society does not recognize the right of one man to own another man against his will. The inalienable right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, is conceded to all. The right of every man to himself, to enjoy the fruits of his own ingenuity and industry, are among the natural rights of every person made in the image of God.”
Elbridge G. Spaulding (1809–1897) said by 1897 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Stress ruthlessly puts out your dreams and robs you of your happiness. It can destroy your health, lead to tensions at home and ruin your career plans. It strikes when you are not at peace or uncomfortable with aspects of your life – and pretty much anything can bring it on.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“America will not die. As the time demands them, great men will appear, and by their combined efforts render liberty and happiness more secure. The people will be ready and answer in every emergency that may arise.”
Charles E. Nash (1844–1913) first seen 1876 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Congressional Record, House, 44th Cong., 1st sess. (7 June 1876): p. 3,669
“You can search the world for happiness but you won't find it until you start being content with what the Almighty has already given you.”
Ismail ibn Musa Menk (born 1975) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 31 May 2016
“He is too blest that his own Happiness knows, And Mortals to themselves are greatest Foes.”
John Ogilby (1600–1676) said by 1676 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People were infected with the concept that happiness was something outside themselves, and a new and powerful form of loneliness was born. Mix loneliness with stress and enervation, and all sorts of madness can occur. Anxiety increases, and in order to obliterate the anxiety, people turn to extreme sex, violence, and even murder.”
Ryu Murakami (1952–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Intelligence is definitely not something that is directed towards amplifying happiness. I would also emphasize the huge, huge difference between intelligence and consciousness, which many people, certainly in the tech industry and in the AI industry, tend to miss.”
Yuval Noah Harari (born 1976) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: #390 - Yuval Noah Harari: Human Nature, Intelligence, Power, and Conspiracies" on Lex Fridman Podcast, found on DeepCast (17 July 2023)
“For 2500 years, Buddhists have systematically studied the essence and cause of happiness. which is why there is a growing interest among the scientific community both in their philosophy and their meditation practices.”
Yuval Noah Harari (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Scholars began to study the history of happiness only a few years ago, and we are still formulating initial hypotheses and searching for appropriate research methods.”
Yuval Noah Harari (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[P]erhaps happiness is synchronising... personal delusions.. with... prevailing collective delusions.”
Yuval Noah Harari (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This right to life, this right to liberty, and this right to pursue one’s happiness is unabashedly individualistic, without in the slightest denying at the same time our thoroughly social nature. It’s only that our social relations, while vital to us all, must be chosen—that is what makes the crucial difference.”
Tibor R. Machan (1939–2016) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Collectivist Thinking Is Rife in the USA”, Strike The Root, March 1, 2004
“For 12 years I have had the honor of teaching geometry and mechanics applied to the arts, in favor of the industrial class... on the most important questions to the well-being, education, and morality of the workers, to the progress of national industry, to the development of all means of prosperity that work can produce for the splendor and happiness of our country.”
Charles Dupin (1784–1873) first seen 1831 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Charles Dupin (1831), Discours sur le Sort des Ouvriers [Discourse on the Condition of the Workers] Paris: Bachelier Librairie. p. 1. ; Translation Wren & Bedeian (2005, 73)
“This is what it behoves us to know: as Frenchmen, for the advantage of France; as friends of all humanity, by that just and generous sentiment which makes us feel interest in the dignity, the peace, the independence, the happiness of all nations, on whatever spot of the globe nature may have placed their country.”
Charles Dupin (1784–1873) said by 1873 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No sound doth great the still of night; My mother land in silence lies; Yet oft is heard an anguished moan As Georgia in her slumber sighs. I stand alone … the mountains, shades The slumber of my land caress. O God! O God! when will we wake And rise again to happiness?”
Ilia Chavchavadze (1837–1907) said by 1907 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This is my wedding day! The day I marry Emmanuel! And the word "wedding," which she had always linked the happiness, now seemed austere, distressing, full of snares and revelations. She saw her mother, heavy and moving with difficulty. A vision of herself as a victim of the same deformity was vivid in her mind.”
Gabrielle Roy (1909–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now I have neither happiness nor unhappiness. Everything passes. That is the one and only thing that I have thought resembled a truth in the society of human beings where I have dwelled up to now as in a burning hell. Everything passes.”
Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I had no choice but to pray for his death. Typically enough, the one thing that never occurred to me was to kill him. During the course of my life I have wished innumerable times that I might meet with a violent death, but I have never once desired to kill anybody. I thought that in killing a dreaded adversary I might actually be bringing him happiness.”
Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I drink out of desperation. Life is too dreary to endure. The misery, loneliness, crampedness — they're heartbreaking.[...] What feelings do you suppose a man has when he realizes that he will never know happiness or glory as long as he lives? Hard work. All that amounts to is food for the wild beasts of hunger.”
Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Humanity? Don't be silly. I know. It is knocking down your fellow-men for the sake of your own happiness.”
Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My heart had melted into something akin to a sensation of happiness, peace of mind one might even say, at the realization that I had now reached the very bottom of agony.”
Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Classical Utilitarians...would claim, as Sidgwick did, that the destruction of mankind would be by far the greatest of all conceivable crimes. The badness of this crime would lie in the vast reduction of the possible sum of happiness.”
Derek Parfit (1942–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I consider the parts of the past of which I have some knowledge, I am inclined to believe that, in Utilitarian hedonistic terms, the past has been worth it, since the sum of happiness has been greater than the sum of suffering.”
Derek Parfit (1942–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I pray that all polar opposites learn to Agape Love, live and work together as brothers and sisters — or perish as fools. While I voted for Mr. Trump, my confidence remains in God, for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Prayers for President-elect Trump, Congressman Lewis, and everyone including leaders.”
Alveda King (born 1951) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Alveda King, MLK’s niece: ‘I voted for Mr. Trump’ (January 16, 2017)
“The thing about happiness is that it doesnt help you to grow; only unhappiness does that. So I'm grateful that my bed of roses was made up equally of blossoms and thorns. I've had a privileged, creative, exciting life, and I think that the parts that were less joyous were preparing me, testing me, strengthening me.”
Lana Turner (1921–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our true motivation isn't sustained only by titles and material results of a campaign. Our actual reward is not to have "that" car, or to reach "that" specific post. In reality, we seek emotional satisfaction: to feel pleasure and happiness!”
Marcos Pontes (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People camouflage against the herd. People aren't after happiness, they're after not hurting.”
Jordan Peterson (born 1962) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 2017 Personality 21: Performance Prediction
“Some people, many who profess to be yogis, argue that vegetarianism is not a healthful diet for everyone. We agree that vegetarianism is not for everybody; it is only for those who desire happiness and peace. It is definitely a must for those who are interested in enlightenment.”
Sharon Gannon (born 1951) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating Body and Soul, coauthored with David Life (New York: Ballantine Books, 2002), p. 65.
“If yogis are to come to the realization of the interconnectedness of life, then we must free ourselves from the conditioning that has caused us to think it is all right to exclude all the other animals from our own goals of peace, freedom, and happiness. … By working to alleviate the suffering of animals you are working at the cause level of human suffering.”
Sharon Gannon (born 1951) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sharon Gannon on Veganism”, in JivamuktiYoga.com (16 November 2016).
“The truth is that I have lived on an even keel. I don't go down, and I don't go up. I believe in living above the line. Above the line is happiness and love, you know. Below the line is all sadness and destruction and unhappiness. And I don't go down below the line for anything.”
Agnes Martin (1912–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My answer is that I am a Hindu and I love Hindu dharma. How can anyone destroy it? It provides happiness both in this world as well as in the other world. There is no other religion like it. Only a deranged person or a fool would leave it to become vile. Hindu dharma would remain in the world for ever. It is not going to be destroyed by your efforts.”
Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675) said by 1675 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I wake up in the morning and seem to hear some one in the house sighing and saying that last night some one died. I immediately ask to find out who it is, and learn that it is the sharpest, most calculating fellow in town. Ah, is this not happiness?”
Jin Shengtan (1608–1661) said by 1661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It has been raining for a whole month and I lie in bed in the morning like one drunk or ill, refusing to get up. Suddenly I hear a chorus of birds announcing a clear day. Quickly I pull aside the curtain, push open the window and see the beautiful sun shining and glistening and the forest looks like having a bath. Ah, is this not happiness?”
Jin Shengtan (1608–1661) said by 1661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To cut with a sharp knife a bright green watermelon on a big scarlet plate of a summer afternoon. Ah, is this not happiness?”
Jin Shengtan (1608–1661) said by 1661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To find accidently a handwritten letter of some old friend in a trunk. Ah, is this not happiness?”
Jin Shengtan (1608–1661) said by 1661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A traveller returns home after a long journey, and he sees the old city gate and hears the women and children on both banks of the river talking his own dialect. Ah, is this not happiness?”
Jin Shengtan (1608–1661) said by 1661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To open the window and let a wasp out of the room. Ah, is this not happiness?”
Jin Shengtan (1608–1661) said by 1661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To have just finished repaying all one's debts. Ah, is this not happiness?”
Jin Shengtan (1608–1661) said by 1661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A person who is on his way to spiritual growth must try to reduce his own selfishness and his strong desire for acquiring more and more. He should reduce his strong attachment to possessions which, if he is not mindful, can enslave him to greed. What he owns or has should instead be used for the benefit and happiness of others: his loved ones as well as those who need his help.”
K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera (1919–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I shall always love the Mexican people for what the happiness they gave us that day. There was nothing that was too much for them to do.”
Natacha Rambova (1897–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Pleasure is not the cause of happiness; rather, it is the effect.”
Mark Manson (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If one could continually satisfy his desires, he would never have time to desire. Happiness then is necessarily composed of alternatives. It could not exist at a constant level.”
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (1796–1832) said by 1832 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The great object of government is to restrict, control and punish man ‘in the pursuit of happiness.’”
George Fitzhugh (1806–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Liberty and equality are not only destructive to the morals, but to the happiness of society.”
George Fitzhugh (1806–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mother is the first Guru to a child. Then comes father. Later, he who gives knowledge is the Guru. After that comes the Guru who teaches the secret of a good life and of true happiness. Last of all, when wisdom comes, one is a Guru unto oneself.”
Narayana Guru (1855–1928) said by 1928 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source