No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer.
Thomas BrowneRead
Content may dwell in all stations. To be low but above contempt may be high enough to be happy.
Interpretation
True contentment can be found in any position in life, as long as one maintains self-respect.
This quote emphasizes that happiness is not solely derived from one's social status or external circumstances, but rather from an internal sense of contentment and self-worth. It suggests that being in a humble position, yet maintaining dignity and self-appreciation, is sufficient for true happiness.
In practice
In a motivational speech about finding happiness in everyday life, you could use this quote.
No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer.
Thus there are two books from whence I collect my Divinity; besides that written one of God, another of his servant Nature, that universal and public Manuscript, that lies expans'd unto the eyes of all; those that never saw him in the one, have discovered him in the other.
To be content with death may be better than to desire it.
Life itself is but the shadow of death, and souls departed but the shadows of the living.
The long habit of living indisposeth us for dying.
Life is a pure flame and we live by an invisible sun within us.
The summit of pleasure is the elimination of all that gives pain.
Bliss - a-second-by-second joy and gratitude at the gift of being alive, conscious - lies on the other side of crushing, crushing boredom. Pay close attention to the most tedious thing you can find (Tax Returns, Televised Golf) and, in waves, a boredom like youβve never known will wash over you and just about kill you. Ride these out, and itβs like stepping from black and white into color. Like water after days in the desert. Instant bliss in every atom.
The happiest moments my heart knows are those in which it is pouring forth its affections to a few esteemed characters.
If we chew every morsel of our food, in that way we become grateful, and when you are grateful, you are happy.
It is the end of happiness and the beginning of peace.
Perhaps it's because I appreciate all I have so much that I don't worry about what I haven't got.
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