Go forward with joyful confidence.
George EliotRead
It is only a poor sort of happiness that could ever come by caring very much about our own pleasures. We can only have the highest happiness such as goes along with being a great man, by having wide thoughts and much feeling for the rest of the world as well as ourselves.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True happiness is achieved not through self-indulgence but by caring for others and having broader thoughts.
George Eliot expresses the idea that a shallow sense of happiness derived solely from pursuing personal pleasures is inferior to a more profound form of joy that comes from empathy and a strong sense of connection to humanity. To attain the highest levels of happiness, one must engage with the world, care for others, and foster a sense of greatness that transcends individual desires.
Themes
HappinessEmpathySelflessnessGreatnessService
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about community service, this quote emphasizes the importance of caring for others.
More from George Eliot
All quotes →You must love your work, and not be always looking over the edge of it, wanting your play to begin. And the other is, you must not be ashamed of your work, and think it would be more honorable to you to be doing something else. You must have a pride in your own work and in learning to do it well.
George EliotRead
She thought it was part of the hardship of her life that there was laid upon her the burthen of larger wants than others seemed to feel – that she had to endure this wide hopeless yearning for that something, whatever it was, that was greatest and best on this earth.
George EliotRead
Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them: they can be injured by us, they can be wounded; they know all our penitence, all our aching sense that their place is empty, all the kisses we bestow on the smallest relic of their presence.
George EliotRead
Similar quotes
Forsythia is pure joy. There is not an ounce, not a glimmer of sadness or even knowledge in forsythia. Pure, undiluted, untouched joy.
Anne Morrow LindberghRead
Surely joy is the condition of life.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Act as if you were already happy and that will tend to make you happy.
Dale CarnegieRead
Man is unhappy because he doesn't know he's happy. If anyone finds out he'll become happy at once.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.
Earl NightingaleRead
Surrounded by all the members of my dear family, enjoying the affection of numerous friends, who have never abandoned me, and possessing a sufficient share of all that contributes to make life agreeable, I lift my grateful eyes towards the Supreme Being and feel that I am happy.
John James AudubonRead