--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Be selfish, stupid and have good health…" description: "\"“Be selfish, stupid and have good health. But if stupidity is lacking, then all is lost.\" Flaubert's dictum for getting through life unscathed.”\" — Gus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/gustave-flaubert-354_flaubert_be-selfish-stupid-and-have-good-health-b_3047421.jpg" --- # Be selfish, stupid and have good health. But if stupidity… ![“Be selfish, stupid and have good health. But if stupidity is lacking, then all is lost." Flaubert's dictum for getting through life unscathed.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/gustave-flaubert-354_flaubert_be-selfish-stupid-and-have-good-health-b_3047421.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/gustave-flaubert-354_flaubert_be-selfish-stupid-and-have-good-health-b_3047421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/gustave-flaubert-354_flaubert_be-selfish-stupid-and-have-good-health-b_3047421.jpg) > ““Be selfish, stupid and have good health. But if stupidity is lacking, then all is lost." Flaubert's dictum for getting through life unscathed.”” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing selfishness with health is essential; lacking common sense leads to ruin. **In simple terms:** Being selfish and healthy is okay, but without common sense you fail. Key Takeaway Cultivate health, self‑care, and practical wisdom. Themes self‑care health common sense balance life philosophy Mood reflective cautious thoughtful Type philosophical advice literary When to use this quote - personal health routines - career decisions - relationship boundaries - financial planning - daily habits Key Concepts egoism well‑being practicality human nature philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑interest with responsibility? - What habits keep you grounded? A Different Perspective Excessive selfishness can harm relationships and society. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaubert/) [Getting through life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-through-life/) [Good health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-health/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“Flaubert tells us that three things are required for happiness: stupidity, selfishness, and good health. I am," he told Morgan, "an unhappy man -”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-doria-russell/flaubert-tells-us-that-three-things-are-required-for-happiness/) [Mary Doria Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-doria-russell/) > [“Cassie, I love you more than life itself. I always have. I just went through a period of time where I was too selfish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cassie-i-love-you-more-than-life-itself-i-always-have-i-just-went/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Looking at him standing there, in this moment, she wanted to be selfish and stupid and wild.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/looking-at-him-standing-there-in-this-moment-she-wanted-to-be-selfish/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“Emigres: Earned their livelihood by giving guitar lessons and mixing salads.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emigres-earned-their-livelihood-by-giving-guitar-lessons-and-mixing/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“I can't tell if wanting you is selfish or stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-rosa/i-can-t-tell-if-wanting-you-is-selfish-or-stupid/) [A. 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Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Set up a life you don't need to escape from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/set-up-a-life-you-don-t-need-to-escape-from/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [An Airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/an-airplane-takes-off-against-the-wind-not-with-it/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [“It was nice to hear someone familiar. 'How have you been?' Hazel cleared her throat. 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The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. 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You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Flaubert quotes > [“No matter how many times we read "King Lear," never shall we find the good king banging his tankard in high revelry, all woes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/no-matter-how-many-times-we-read-king-lear-never-shall-we-find-the/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“No sooner do we come into this world,’ said Flaubert, ‘than bits of us start to fall off.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/no-sooner-do-we-come-into-this-world-said-flaubert-than-bits-of-us/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [I have a boundless passion for Flaubert. 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Remember, rather, what Flaubert said:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/i-have-recommended-you-the-dignity-of-skepticism-yet-here-i-am/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [And there was that poor sucker Flaubert rolling around on his floor for three days looking for the right word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/and-there-was-that-poor-sucker-flaubert-rolling-around-on-his-floor/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Flaubert spoke true: to succeed a great artist must have both character and fanaticism and few in this country are willing to pay the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/flaubert-spoke-true-to-succeed-a-great-artist-must-have-both/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [“Flaubert prided himself on his frankness; it was indeed brutal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/flaubert-prided-himself-on-his-frankness-it-was-indeed-brutal/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [ I am finishing a biography of \[Gustave\] Flaubert. Because he is the opposite of what I am. One needs to rub up against argument. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-am-finishing-a-biography-of-gustave-flaubert-because-he-is-the/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [ “Monsieur Flaubert is not a writer. \[1857\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-figaro/monsieur-flaubert-is-not-a-writer-1857/) Le Figaro > [“My mother, who has read all of Balzac and quotes Flaubert at every dinner, is living proof every day of how education is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/my-mother-who-has-read-all-of-balzac-and-quotes-flaubert-at-every/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“He had no document but his memory; the training he had acquired with each added hexameter gave him a discipline unsuspected by those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/he-had-no-document-but-his-memory-the-training-he-had-acquired-with/) [Jorge Luís Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“Flaubert teaches you to gave upon the truth and not blink from its consequences; he teaches you, with Montaigne, to sleep on the pillow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/flaubert-teaches-you-to-gave-upon-the-truth-and-not-blink-from-its/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Flaubert tells us that three things are required for happiness: stupidity, selfishness, and good health. 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History is prophecy, looking backwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-berry/i-like-what-flaubert-once-wrote-history-is-prophecy-looking-backwards/) [Steve Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-berry/) [Browse all 24 Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaubert/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Be selfish, stupid and have good health. 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