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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.
Joseph Addison
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Interpretation

What this quote means

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.

Themes

SmileHappinessHumanityPositivityGoodness

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about kindness, one might use this quote to inspire audience members to smile more.

More from Joseph Addison

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.
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Good nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty.
Joseph AddisonRead
Ridicule is generally made use of to laugh men out of virtue and good sense, by attacking everything praiseworthy in human life.
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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.
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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.
Joseph AddisonRead
An ostentatious man will rather relate a blunder or an absurdity he has committed, than be debarred from talking of his own dear person.
Joseph AddisonRead

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