Nothing that makes us happy is an illusion.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe · The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774). Book I, July 18 letter

One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe · Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, V, 1

The greatest happiness for the thinking man is to have fathomed the fathomable, and to quietly revere the unfathomable.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe · From Goethe's maxims.

If I work incessantly to the last, nature owes me another form of existence when the present one collapses.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe · Conversation with Johann Peter Eckermann, Letter to Eckermann [February 4, 1829]

How simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea.

Nikos Kazantzakis · The source reads: “How simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea.… All that is required to feel that here and now is happiness is a simple, frugal heart.” · Zorba the Greek (1946), ch. 7

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

The Bible · The source reads: “The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground: yea, I have a goodly heritage.” · Psalm 16:6. The familiar King James wording; the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations gives the Book of Common Prayer psalter.

We shouldn't just say, "Let me be miserable now, and later I'll be happy." You've got to learn to find the joy all the way through.

Michael Strahan · The source reads: “I was always told "Work hard when you're young so you can enjoy it when you're older." We should really be enjoying it all the way through. We shouldn't just say, "Well, let me be miserable now, and later then I'll be happy." You've got to learn to find the joy all the way.” · The footballer and broadcaster on joy.

“Nothing that makes us happy is an illusion.”

“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”

“The greatest happiness for the thinking man is to have fathomed the fathomable, and to quietly revere the unfathomable.”

“If I work incessantly to the last, nature owes me another form of existence when the present one collapses.”

“How simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea.”

“The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.”

“We shouldn't just say, "Let me be miserable now, and later I'll be happy." You've got to learn to find the joy all the way through.”

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