best quotations about
Happiness |
| 191 quotes | Visits: 2,561 |
Quotations
 | Nothing is wrong if it makes you happy. — Bob Marley, 1945-1981, Jamaican singer 14 likes |
 | To make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires. — Epicurus, 341-270 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 11 likes |
 | Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness. — Frank Tyger, 1929-2011, American cartoonist 11 likes |
 | Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. — Marcel Proust, 1871-1922, French writer 11 likes |
| Happiness is beneficial for the body, but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind. — Marcel Proust, 1871-1922, French writer 11 likes |
 | Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get. — H. Jackson Brown, Jr., 1940-2021, American self-help writer 10 likes |
 | Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action. — William James, 1842-1910, American philosopher 9 likes |
 | Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. — Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer 8 likes |
 | A person is never happy except at the price of some ignorance. — Anatole France, 1844-1924, French writer, Nobel 1921 8 likes |
 | Once I wanted total happiness – now I will settle for a little less pain. — Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933-, British cartoonist & epigrammatist 8 likes |
 | He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home. — Wolfgang Goethe, 1749-1832, German poet & philosopher 7 likes |
 | The safest way of not being very miserable is not to expect to be very happy. — Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher 7 likes |
 | Drink because you are happy, but never because you are miserable. — G. K. Chesterton, 1874-1936, English writer & critic 7 likes |
| Happiness is man's greatest aim in life. Tranquillity and rationality are the cornerstones of happiness. — Epicurus, 341-270 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 7 likes |
 | Happiness, whether consisting in pleasure or virtue, or both, is more often found with those who are highly cultivated in their minds and in their character, and have only a moderate share of external goods, than among those who possess external goods to a useless extent but are deficient in higher qualities. — Aristotle, 384-322 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 7 likes |
 | Happiness is based on the five senses, while virtue cannot satisfy any of them. — Marquis de Sade, 1740-1814, French writer 6 likes |
 | People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy. — Anton Chekhov, 1860-1904, Russian writer 6 likes |
 | The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 6 likes |
 | The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions - the little, soon forgotten charities of a kiss or a smile, a kind look or heartfelt compliment. — Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834, English poet & philosopher 6 likes |
 | To be happy with a man you must understand him a lot and love him a little. To be happy with a woman you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all. — Helen Rowland, 1875-1950, American journalist & humorist 6 likes |
 | True happiness is to reminisce the present. — Jules Renard, 1864-1910, French writer 6 likes |
| The unhappy are egotistical, base, unjust, cruel, and even less capable of understanding one another than are idiots. Unhappiness does not unite people, but separates them... — Anton Chekhov, 1860-1904, Russian writer 6 likes |
 | Happiness is the light on the water. The water is cold and dark and deep. — William Maxwell, 1908-2000, American writer 6 likes |
| I've found the secret of happiness, total disregard of everybody. — Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933-, British cartoonist & epigrammatist 6 likes |
 | Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. — Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, American self-help writer 6 likes |
| Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 6 likes |
| Give a man health and a course to steer, and he'll never stop to trouble about whether he's happy or not. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 5 likes |
 | Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action. — Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881, British Prime Minister 5 likes |
 | The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved, loved for ourselves, or rather loved in spite of ourselves. — Victor Hugo, 1802-1885, French writer 5 likes |
 | So you have no more happiness to give... Well then – there still remains your pain. — Lou Andreas-Salomé, 1861-1937, Russian-German writer & psychoanalyst 5 likes |
 | He who is never happy will never be happy. — Duc de Levis, 1764-1830, French politician & author of maxims 5 likes |
 | The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does. — James Barrie, 1860-1937, English writer 5 likes |
 | If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or objects. — Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, German-Jewish physicist 5 likes |
| The two foes of human happiness are pain and boredom. — Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher 5 likes |
| With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy? — Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer 5 likes |
 | One is never so happy or so unhappy as one fancies. — La Rochefoucauld, 1613-1680, French writer 5 likes |
 | If artists and poets are unhappy, it is after all because happiness does not interest them. — George Santayana, 1863-1952, Spanish-American philosopher 5 likes |
 | Happiness writes in white ink on a white page. — Henry de Montherlant, 1895-1972, French writer 5 likes |
 | True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new. — Antoin de Saint-Exupéry, 1900-1940, French writer 5 likes |
| To be happy you must have taken the measure of your powers, tasted the fruits of your passion, and learned your place in the world. — George Santayana, 1863-1952, Spanish-American philosopher 4 likes |
 | It's far better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone. — Marilyn Monroe, 1926-1962, American actress 4 likes |
 | Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember. — Oscar Levant, 1906-1972, American pianist 4 likes |
 | Money will not make you happy, and happy will not make you money. — Groucho Marx, 1890-1977, American comedian 4 likes |
 | Oh, how unbearable is a happy person sometimes! — Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821-1881, Russian writer 4 likes |
 | I look at what I have not and think myself unhappy; others look at what I have and think me happy. — Joseph Roux, 1834-1905, French clergyman & poet 4 likes |
| The only way to avoid being miserable is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 4 likes |
 | Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. — Mark Twain, 1835-1910, American writer 4 likes |
 | To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others. — Albert Camus, 1913-1960, French writer, Nobel 1957 4 likes |
| The happiness and misery of men depend no less on temper than fortune. — La Rochefoucauld, 1613-1680, French writer 4 likes |
 | Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. — Ernest Hemingway, 1899-1961, American writer, Nobel 1954 4 likes |
| Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery. — H. Jackson Brown, Jr., 1940-2021, American self-help writer 4 likes |
| If you want happiness, provide it to others. — Frank Tyger, 1929-2011, American cartoonist 4 likes |
 | One can forget God as long as he is happy, but when happiness gives way to misery, it is always to God that we must return. — Alexandre Dumas, 1802-1870, French writer 4 likes |
 | The door to happiness opens outward. — Søren Kierkegaard, 1813-1855, Danish philosopher 4 likes |
 | Woman is not made to be the admiration of all, but the happiness of one. — Edmund Burke, 1729-1797, British statesman & philosopher 4 likes |
| It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else. — Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher 3 likes |
 | Happiness: a good bank account, a good cook, and a good digestion. — Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778, Swiss-French philosopher 3 likes |
 | Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. — Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948, Indian leader of independence 3 likes |
 | Happiness is a virtue, not its reward. — Baruch Spinoza, 1632-1677, Dutch philosopher 3 likes |
 | I’m really afraid to feel happy because it never lasts. — Andy Warhol, 1928-1987, American artist 3 likes |
 | Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be. — Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, American President 3 likes |
 | Fun I love, but too much fun is of all things the most loathsome. Mirth is better than fun and happiness is better than mirth. — William Blake, 1757-1827, English poet & painter 3 likes |
| We are more interested in making others believe we are happy than in trying to be happy ourselves. — La Rochefoucauld, 1613-1680, French writer 3 likes |
| Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved. — Victor Hugo, 1802-1885, French writer 3 likes |
| On the highway of life, we most often recognize happiness out of the rear-view mirror. — Frank Tyger, 1929-2011, American cartoonist 3 likes |
| Man is unhappy because he doesn't know he's happy. It's only that. — Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821-1881, Russian writer 3 likes |
 | Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. — Jim Rohn, 1930-2009, American self-help speker 3 likes |
 | Happiness is a habit—cultivate it. — Elbert Hubbard, 1856-1915, American writer 3 likes |
| My thoughts about human happiness, for some peculiar reason, had always been tinged with a certain sadness. — Anton Chekhov, 1860-1904, Russian writer 3 likes |
| The happiest is he who suffers least; the most miserable is he who enjoys least. — Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778, Swiss-French philosopher 3 likes |
 | Any fool knows that to work hard at something you want to accomplish is the only way to be happy. — Eugene O’Neill, 1888-1953, American playwright, Nobel 1936 3 likes |
| Man only likes to count his troubles; he doesn't calculate his happiness. — Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821-1881, Russian writer 3 likes |
 | A comfortable house is a great source of happiness. It ranks immediately after health and a good conscience. — Sydney Smith, 1771-1845, British writer & cleric 3 likes |
 | Happy people are poor psychologists. — Stefan Zweig, 1881-1942, Austrian writer 3 likes |
| Happiness lies in the physical life, sorrow in thought. — Marty Rubin, 1930-1994, Canadian gay activist, author & journalist 3 likes |
 | To love is to find pleasure in the happiness of others. — Gottfried Leibnitz, 1646-1716, German philosopher & mathematician 3 likes |
 | Happiness is not a state to arrive at, rather, a manner of traveling. — Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English writer 2 likes |
 | I do not think that we have a “right” to happiness. If happiness happens, say thanks. — Marlen Dietrich, 1901-1992, German-American actress 2 likes |
 | We thought we had such problems. How were we to know we were happy? — Margaret Atwood, 1939 -, Canadian writer 2 likes |
| The happiness which is lacking makes one think even the happiness one has unbearable. — Joseph Roux, 1834-1905, French clergyman & poet 2 likes |
| We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 2 likes |
 | Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day. — Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790, American politician & writer 2 likes |
 | Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness. — Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804, German philosopher 2 likes |
| Happiness is not an ideal of reason but of imagination. — Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804, German philosopher 2 likes |
| A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her. — Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer 2 likes |
 | He never felt loneliness except when he was happy. — Ayn Rand, 1905-1982, American writer & philosopher 2 likes |
 | Is anyone anywhere happy? — Sylvia Plath, 1932-1963, American poet & writer 2 likes |
| There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern. — Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English writer 2 likes |
| Labor, if it were not necessary for existence, would be indispensable for the happiness of man. — Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English writer 2 likes |
| Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own. — H. Jackson Brown, Jr., 1940-2021, American self-help writer 2 likes |
 | One feels inclined to say that the intention that man should be “happy” is not included in the plan of “Creation.” — Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939, Austrian psychologist, founder of psychoanalysis 2 likes |
| Happiness is not an accident. Nor is it something you wish for. Happiness is something you design. — Jim Rohn, 1930-2009, American self-help speker 2 likes |
| Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want. — Jim Rohn, 1930-2009, American self-help speker 2 likes |
| We don’t laugh because we’re happy, we’re happy because we laugh. — William James, 1842-1910, American philosopher 2 likes |
| It's a great game - the pursuit of happiness. — Eugene O’Neill, 1888-1953, American playwright, Nobel 1936 2 likes |
| You said they had found the secret of happiness because they had never heard that love can be a sin. — Eugene O’Neill, 1888-1953, American playwright, Nobel 1936 2 likes |
 | If only we wanted to be happy, it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, which is difficult, since we think them happier than they are. — Montesquieu, 1689-1755, French thinker 2 likes |
 | Until you are happy with who you are, you will never be happy with what you have. — Zig Ziglar, 1926-2012, American self-help writer 2 likes |
 | There is this difference between happiness and wisdom, that he that thinks himself the happiest man, really is so; but he who thinks himself the wisest, is generally the greatest fool. — Charles Caleb Colton, 1780-1832, English cleric & writer 2 likes |
 | That's the difference between me and the rest of the world! Happiness isn't good enough for me! I demand euphoria! — Bill Watterson, 1958-, American cartoonist 2 likes |
 | Happiness, n. An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another. — Ambrose Bierce, 1842–1914, American writer 2 likes |
 | Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. — Robert Heinlein, 1907-1988, American sci-fi writer 1 likes |
 | When it comes to happiness, things are like a clock: the simpler the mechanism, the less often it breaks. — Nicolas Chamfort, 1740-1794, French writer 1 likes |
 | One of the greatest happinesses that can happen to us in life is to have a happy childhood. — Agatha Christie, 1890-1976, British writer 1 likes |
 | No one has a right to consume happiness without producing it. |
 | The less one notices happiness, the greater it is. |
 | It’s so important to do something every day that will make you happy. |
| Exercise your heart, do what makes you happy! |
 | Be happy, but never satisfied. |
 | Always leave something to wish for; otherwise you will be miserable from your very happiness. |
 | To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost. |
 | Coquetry only goes well to the happy woman. |
| A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships. |
| Happiness does not come from without, it comes from within. |
 | One must dare to be happy. |
 | The summit of happiness is reached when a person is ready to be what he is. |
| The chief element of happiness is this: to want to be what you are. |
 | The secret to happiness is to face the fact that the world is horrible. |
| Anything you're good at contributes to happiness. |
| I believe four ingredients are necessary for happiness: health, warm personal relations, sufficient means to keep you from want, and successful work. |
 | Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes. |
 | Self-knowledge is no guarantee of happiness, but it is on the side of happiness and can supply the courage to fight for it. |
 | Whoever wants to be happy is not. |
| We use up in the passions all the stuff that was given to us for happiness. |
| It is an aspect of all happiness to suppose that we deserve it. |
 | Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. |
| Happiness is a myth invented by the devil to make us despair. |
| Happiness depends on courage and work. |
| Every moment of happiness requires a great amount of Ignorance. |
| People exaggerate both happiness and unhappiness; we are never so fortunate nor so unfortunate as people say we are. |
 | I’m claiming the right to be unhappy. |
| Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities. |
 | Happiness, like wealth, has its parasites. |
 | Every happiness is the child of a separation it did not think it could survive. |
 | Everyone chases after happiness, not noticing that happiness is at their heels. |
| To be up to the eyebrows in a great work of literature is such happiness. |
 | He whose son is obedient to him, whose wife’s conduct is in accordance with his wishes, and who is content with his riches, has his heaven here on earth. |
 | Happiness is the sum of all the misfortunes we don't have. |
 | Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things. |
| There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. |
| We have two kinds of happiness: the ones we get without harming anyone, and the ones we get by stabbing someone. |
 | Happiness is love, nothing else. A man who is capable of love is happy. |
 | If we did not suffer from time to time, happiness would no longer be bearable. |
 | I have committed the worst sin that can be committed. I have not been happy. |
| I decided many times to go into metaphysics, but I was interrupted by happiness. |
| I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride. |
| Happiness is egotistical. |
 | I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive. |
 | Happiness is sand between the fingers in the wind. — Maurice Chapelan, 1906-1992, French author of maxims & journalist |
| I don't know how to be happy They didn't teach it in my school. — Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933-, British cartoonist & epigrammatist |
| If you can't go where people are happier, try to make people happier where you are. — Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933-, British cartoonist & epigrammatist |
 | Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing. |
| It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it. |
| One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses. |
| Happiness is the greatest hiding place for despair. |
| People settle for a level of despair they can tolerate and call it happiness. |
| Happiness never made anyone rich or famous. That must be why ambitious people avoid it. — Marty Rubin, 1930-1994, Canadian gay activist, author & journalist |
 | Associate with the noblest people you can find; read the best books; live with the mighty; but learn to be happy alone. — Saul Bellow, 1914-2005, Canadian-American writer, Nobel 1976 |
| Happiness can only be found if you can free yourself of all other distractions. — Saul Bellow, 1914-2005, Canadian-American writer, Nobel 1976 |
 | Living well is the best revenge. |
 | We would be happier with what we have if we weren’t so unhappy about what we don’t have. |
| Pleasure can be supported by an illusion; but happiness rests upon truth. |
| Happiness is not easy to find. It’s very difficult to find it in yourself — and impossible to find anywhere else. |
| In order to be happy in this world, one must take care to paralyze some aspects of one’s soul. |
 | We are not capable of being unhappy for long. — François-René de Chateaubriand, 1768-1848, French poet & politician |
| True happiness costs little; if it is expensive, it is not of a good kind. — François-René de Chateaubriand, 1768-1848, French poet & politician |
 | Happiness is the relief after extreme tension. |
 | Beauty is a promise of happiness. |
| It all comes to this: the simplest way to be happy is to do good. |
| Happiness is the final and perfect fruit of obedience to the laws of life. |
Quotes in Verse
 | Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length. — Robert Frost, 1874-1963, American poet 4 likes |
 | Happiness, not in another place but this place… not for another hour, but this hour. — Walt Whitman, 1819-1892, American poet 3 likes |
Funny Quotes
 | My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met. — Rodney Dangerfield, 1924-2004, American comedian 5 likes |
 | Happiness? A good cigar, a good meal, and a good woman - or a bad woman; it depends on how much happiness you can handle. — George Burns, 1896-1996, American comedian 4 likes |
 | All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy. — Spike Milligan, 1918-2002, Irish comedian 3 likes |
 | I was deeply unhappy, but I didn’t know it because I was so happy all the time. — Steve Martin, 1945-, American actor 2 likes |
Ancient Greek
 | Count no man happy until the end is known. Μηδένα προ του τέλους μακάριζε. — Solon, 630-560 BC, Ancient Greek lawmaker & philosopher (to Croesus, king of Lydia) 14 likes |
 | Happiness comes from the soul, like unhappiness. Ευδαιμονίη ψυχής και κακοοδαιμονίη. — Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 12 likes |
 | Knowing that human happiness never remains long in the same place. Την ανθρωπηίην ων επιστάμενος ευδαιμονίην ουδαμά εν τωυτώ μένουσαν. — Herodotus, 480-420 BC, Ancient Greek historian, the “ father of History” 8 likes |
 | Who is happy? This is a person, who has a healthy body, is dowered with peace of mind and cultivates his talents. Τις ευδαίμων; Ο το μεν σώμα υγιής, την δε ψυχήν εύπορος, την δε φύσιν ευπαίδευτος. — Thales of Miletus, 643-548 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 7 likes |
 | Happiness in life depends on very few things. Εν ολιγίστοις κείται το ευδαιμόνως βιώσαι. — Marcus Aurelius, 121-180 AD, Roman Emperor ‐ Meditations VII, 67 6 likes |
| So we must exercise ourselves in the things which bring happiness, since, if that be present, we have everything, and, if that be absent, all our actions are directed towards attaining it. Mελετάν ουν χρη τα ποιούντα την ευδαιμονίαν, είπερ παρούσης μεν αυτής πάντα έχομεν, απούσης δε πάντα πράττομεν εις το ταύτην έχειν. — Epicurus, 341-270 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 6 likes |
 | The great happiness is not lasting among mortals. Ο μέγας όλβος ού μόνιμος εν βροτοίς. — Euripides, 480-406 BC, Ancient Greek tragedian ‐ Orestes 4 likes |
 | Happy are those who have never experienced misfortune. Ευδαίμονες οίσι κακών άγευστος αιών. — Sophocles, 496-406 BC, Ancient tragic poet ‐ Αντιγόνη 4 likes |
| Men do not get happy from bodies or from money, but by acting right and thinking wide. Ούτε σώμασιν ούτε χρήμασιν ευδαιμονούσιν άνθρωποι, αλλ’ ορθοσύνη και πολυφροσύνη. — Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 3 likes |
| It is easy to find a friend in prosperity, but when you are unhappy nothing is harder. Εν ευτυχίη φίλον ευρείν εύπορον, εν δε δυστυχίη πάντων απορώτατον. — Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 2 likes |
| Happiness does not dwell in herds nor in gold. Ευδαιμονίη ουκ εν βοσκήμασιν οικεί ουδέ εν χρυσώ. — Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 2 likes |
 | To be happy is a god among men and more than a god. Το δ’ ευτυχείν τοδ’ εν βροτοίς θεός τε και θεού πλέον. — Aeschylus, 525-456 BC, Ancient Greek tragedian ‐ Libation bearers 2 likes |
Proverbs
 | Happy people have no history. 3 likes |
Movie Quotes
 | I don't know if I'm unhappy because I'm not free, or if I'm not free because I'm unhappy. — from the film Breathless (1960) 7 likes |
 | Now, think of the happiest things. It's the same as having wings. — from the film Peter Pan 4 likes |
