If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
William Butler YeatsRead
Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing.
Interpretation
Happiness comes from personal growth rather than external pleasures or virtues.
In this quote, William Butler Yeats suggests that true happiness is not found in fleeting pleasures, moral virtues, or particular achievements. Instead, he emphasizes that it stems from continuous growth and development as individuals. This perspective encourages a focus on self-improvement and personal evolution as the key to achieving lasting joy.
In practice
This quote can be shared during motivational speeches about personal growth.
If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
It was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.
For he would be thinking of love Till the stars had run away And the shadows eaten the moon.
Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action, for we would not change that which we love.
Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby
Were it not for imagination a man would be as happy in the arms of a chambermaid as of a duchess.
You must have a cigarette. A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?
I know not if this earth on which I stand is the core of the universe or if it is but a speck of dust lost in eternity. I know not and I care not. For I know what happiness is possible to me on earth. And my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose.
I want to know where joy lives. I'd interview scientists, religious leaders and heads of state. I'd want to find out exactly what makes people happy. I'd want to look into the biology, the chemistry of the human brain.
A comfortable house is a great source of happiness. It ranks immediately after health and a good conscience.
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