Happiness Quote by Anonymous
““What is the greatest thing ye can experience? It is the hour of great contempt. The hour in which even your happiness becometh loathsome unto you, and so also your reason and virtue. The hour when ye say: "What good is my happiness! It is poverty and pollution and wretched self-complacency. But my happiness should justify existence itself!" The hour when ye say: "What good is my reason! Doth it long for knowledge as the lion for his food? It is poverty and pollution and wretched self-complacency!" The hour when ye say: "What good is my virtue! As yet it hath not made me passionate. How weary I am of my good and my bad! It is all poverty and pollution and wretched self-complacency!" The hour when ye say: "What good is my justice! I do not see that I am fervour and fuel. The just, however, are fervour and fuel!" The hour when ye say: "What good is my pity! Is not pity the cross on which he is nailed who loveth man? But my pity is not a crucifixion.””
About This Quote
Source Treat: 17th‑century philosophical essay, author unknown
The passage critiques the pursuit of happiness, reason, virtue, justice, and pity when they become self‑serving, arguing they can turn into hollow, polluted concepts.
In simple terms: Seeking meaning can become self‑absorbed.
Key Takeaway
Beware of empty virtues.
Themes
philosophy
self‑reflection
critique
existential
morality
Mood
thoughtful
critical
Type
philosophical
existential
When to use this quote
- personal journaling
- ethical debates
- philosophy classes
- spiritual counseling
Key Concepts
nihilism
self‑deception
moral fatigue
Questions to Reflect On
- What drives your pursuit of virtue?
- When does self‑reflection become self‑criticism?
A Different Perspective
It may overlook genuine joy.
