--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe I may assert that they were…" description: "\"“I believe I may assert that they were really in possession of deep and growing happiness. It ended. Well, we must be for ourselves in the long run; th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/emily-bronte-574_happiness_i-believe-i-may-assert-that-they-were-re_2602114.jpg" --- # I believe I may assert that they were really in possession… ![“I believe I may assert that they were really in possession of deep and growing happiness. It ended. Well, we must be for ourselves in the long run; the mild and generous are only more justly selfish than the domineering- and it ended when circumstances caused each to feel that the one's interest…” quote by Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/emily-bronte-574_happiness_i-believe-i-may-assert-that-they-were-re_2602114.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/emily-bronte-574_happiness_i-believe-i-may-assert-that-they-were-re_2602114.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/emily-bronte-574_happiness_i-believe-i-may-assert-that-they-were-re_2602114.jpg) > ““I believe I may assert that they were really in possession of deep and growing happiness. It ended. Well, we must be for ourselves in the long run; the mild and generous are only more justly selfish than the domineering- and it ended when circumstances caused each to feel that the one's interest was not in the chief consideration in the other's thoughts.”” [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People may possess deep happiness but circumstances can shift priorities, leading to selfishness and conflict. **In simple terms:** Happiness can be fragile and selfishness may arise. Key Takeaway Recognize shifting motives in relationships. Themes happiness selfishness relationships Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - marriage counseling - friendship - business partnerships Key Concepts psychology human nature moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What drives selfish behavior in close ties? - How to maintain generosity under pressure? A Different Perspective May be overly complex without clear source. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caused Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caused-feel-685266/) [Ended Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ended-circumstances-1953944/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Ended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-ended-1953943/) [Long run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-run/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish/) [Selfish Domineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-domineering-1903520/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) ## Related quotes > [“The mild and generous are only more justly selfish than the domineering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-mild-and-generous-are-only-more-justly-selfish-than-the/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [Ultimately, all human activities have as their goal the realization of happiness. 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Whatever in the long run and with regard to the greater number of instances men find to be generally inexpedient comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/immoral-adj-inexpedient-whatever-in-the-long-run-and-with-regard-to/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [ \[U\]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together-and-on-alliances-of-self/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [There are few husbands whom the wife cannot win in the long run, by patience and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-of-valois/there-are-few-husbands-whom-the-wife-cannot-win-in-the-long-run-by/) [Margaret of Valois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-of-valois/) > [“Polarization (and Trumpism) is in itself a kind of political crisis. But all of this would be fine in the long run, if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanzi-freinacht/polarization-and-trumpism-is-in-itself-a-kind-of-political-crisis-but/) [Hanzi Freinacht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanzi-freinacht/) ## More by Emily Brontë > [Honest people don't hide their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/honest-people-don-t-hide-their-deeds/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [He is more myself than I am. Whatever our two souls are made of, his and mine are the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/he-is-more-myself-than-i-am-whatever-our-two-souls-are-made-of-his/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I shall smile when wreaths of snow Blossom where the rose should grow; I shall sing when night's decay Ushers in a drearier day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-shall-smile-when-wreaths-of-snow-blossom-where-the-rose-should-grow/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [how cruel, your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/how-cruel-your-veins-are-full-of-ice-water-and-mine-are-boiling/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will changeit,I'mwellaware, aswinterchangesthetrees. 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I doubt whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/papa-talks-enough-of-my-defects-and-shows-enough-scorn-of-me-to-make/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“Mama never told me I had a father.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/mama-never-told-me-i-had-a-father/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [The intense horror of nightmare came over me: I tried to draw back my arm, but the hand clung to it, and a most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-intense-horror-of-nightmare-came-over-me-i-tried-to-draw-back-my/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“It is not in him to be loved like me: how can she love in him what he has not?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/it-is-not-in-him-to-be-loved-like-me-how-can-she-love-in-him-what-he/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I have lost the faculty of enjoying their destruction, and I am too idle to destroy for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-have-lost-the-faculty-of-enjoying-their-destruction-and-i-am-too/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/my-love-for-heathcliff-resembles-the-eternal-rocks-beneath-a-source/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [Tis moonlight, summer moonlight, All soft and still and fair; The solemn hour of midnight Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere, But most where trees are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/tis-moonlight-summer-moonlight-all-soft-and-still-and-fair-the-solemn/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“It expressed, plainer than words could do, the intense anguish at having made himself the instrument of thwarting his own revenge. Had it been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/it-expressed-plainer-than-words-could-do-the-intense-anguish-at/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) [Explore all 400 Emily Brontë quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I believe I may assert that they were really in possession of deep and growing happiness. 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