Unbounded courage and compassion join'd, Tempering each other in the victor's mind, Alternately proclaim him good and great, And make the hero and the man complete.
Joseph AddisonRead
What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.
Interpretation
Smiles have a profound positive impact on humanity, much like sunshine nourishes flowers.
In this quote, Joseph Addison compares the importance of smiles to that of sunshine for flowers. He emphasizes that while smiles may seem like small gestures, they contribute significantly to the well-being of people, enriching lives in ways that are beyond measure.
In practice
In a motivational speech about kindness, one might use this quote to inspire audience members to smile more.
Unbounded courage and compassion join'd, Tempering each other in the victor's mind, Alternately proclaim him good and great, And make the hero and the man complete.
Good nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty.
Ridicule is generally made use of to laugh men out of virtue and good sense, by attacking everything praiseworthy in human life.
Admiration is a very short lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object, unless it still be fed with fresh discoveries, and kept alive by a new perpetual succession of miracles rising up to its view.
It is impossible for us, who live in the latter ages of the world, to make observations in criticism, morality, or in any art or science, which have not been touched upon by others. We have little else left us but to represent the common sense of mankind in more strong, more beautiful, or more uncommon lights.
An ostentatious man will rather relate a blunder or an absurdity he has committed, than be debarred from talking of his own dear person.
I am truly at my happiest not when I am writing an aria for an actor or making a grand political or social point. I am at my happiest when I've figured out a fun way for somebody to slip on a banana peel.
The only way to avoid being miserable is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not.
The way to be truly happy is to be truly human, and the way to be truly human is to be truly godly.
Only you can take responsibility for your happiness..but you can't do it alone. It's the great paradox of being human.
Nobody is in a position to decree what should make a fellow man happier.
Happiness and suffering do not depend on being poor or rich, they depend on having the right or wrong understanding in our mind.
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