--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be stupid, selfish, and have good…" description: "\"To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/gustave-flaubert-354_good-health_to-be-stupid-selfish-and-have-good-healt_2580760.jpg" --- # To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three… ![“To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/gustave-flaubert-354_good-health_to-be-stupid-selfish-and-have-good-healt_2580760.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/gustave-flaubert-354_good-health_to-be-stupid-selfish-and-have-good-healt_2580760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/gustave-flaubert-354_good-health_to-be-stupid-selfish-and-have-good-healt_2580760.jpg) > “To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.” [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. Happiness is portrayed as dependent on health, selfishness, and a lack of intelligence, suggesting folly is essential. **In simple terms:** Health, selfishness, and stupidity are seen as keys to happiness. Key Takeaway Recognize the absurdity and seek balanced fulfillment. Themes happiness health selfishness folly Mood ironic critical Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - personal philosophy - life advice - social commentary Key Concepts existentialism satire Questions to Reflect On - Do you agree that ignorance can be bliss? - How do selfish motives affect well‑being? A Different Perspective If health or intelligence is missing, happiness may be compromised. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-health/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity/) ## Related quotes > [To be stupid and selfish and to have good health are the three requirements for happiness. 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My answer was: A feeling that you have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/someone-once-asked-me-what-i-regarded-as-the-three-most-important/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [“Be selfish and take good care of you first. When you are your best, you can best help others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/be-selfish-and-take-good-care-of-you-first-when-you-are-your-best-you/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [The better I am, the better the team is, so you should want me to be selfish about how good I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-bauer/the-better-i-am-the-better-the-team-is-so-you-should-want-me-to-be/) [Trevor Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-bauer/) > [Show me an 'easy person,' and I will show you a selfish one. 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The secret of good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-johnson/the-human-body-has-been-designed-to-resist-an-infinite-number-of/) Harry Johnson > [You know, we can't beat ISIS. We can't do anything. We can't take care of our vets. We can't have good health care. "Obama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-know-we-can-t-beat-isis-we-can-t-do-anything-we-can-t-take-care/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [If you’re going to die on screen, you’ve got to be strong and in good health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/if-you-re-going-to-die-on-screen-you-ve-got-to-be-strong-and-in-good/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. 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 Good health quotes > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. 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The secret of good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-johnson/the-human-body-has-been-designed-to-resist-an-infinite-number-of/) Harry Johnson > [“Good health and happiness are life’s most precious treasures. Those who possess them are blessed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/good-health-and-happiness-are-life-s-most-precious-treasures-those/) [Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/) > [Deliver me from all evildoers that talk nothing but sickness and failure. Grant me the companionship of men who think success and men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/deliver-me-from-all-evildoers-that-talk-nothing-but-sickness-and/) [William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/) > [In my forties, my optimism was boundless. I had really good health and tremendous success which allowed me to do anything I wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-cornwell/in-my-forties-my-optimism-was-boundless-i-had-really-good-health-and/) [Patricia Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-cornwell/) > [Apart from education, you need good health, and for that, you need to play sports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kapil-dev/apart-from-education-you-need-good-health-and-for-that-you-need-to/) [Kapil Dev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kapil-dev/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“I could not disagree more,” said Ganesh, my father giving me a hidden wink. “If we build toward them they’ll see it as hostile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/i-could-not-disagree-more-said-ganesh-my-father-giving-me-a-hidden/) [Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/) > [Things like guitars and ukuleles, you should never part with it, because there will probably be good, healthy times spent, just playing and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-vedder/things-like-guitars-and-ukuleles-you-should-never-part-with-it/) [Eddie Vedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-vedder/) > [“Good health is about being able to fully enjoy the time we do have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-colin-campbell/good-health-is-about-being-able-to-fully-enjoy-the-time-we-do-have/) [T. Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-colin-campbell/) > [“You may not appreciate the presence of good health, but you will definitely regret the absence of good health, because health is happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-may-not-appreciate-the-presence-of-good-health-but-you-will/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [The signs of good health are an intellect which is free from inhibition and arrogance, a heart which is full of compassion is healthy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-signs-of-good-health-are-an-intellect-which-is-free-from/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [My trust in God flows out of the experience of his loving me, day in and day out, whether the day is stormy or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/my-trust-in-god-flows-out-of-the-experience-of-his-loving-me-day-in/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) [Browse all 616 Good health quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-health/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gustave Flaubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/to-be-stupid-selfish-and-have-good-health-are-three-requirements-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Good health" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/to-be-stupid-selfish-and-have-good-health-are-three-requirements-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/gustave-flaubert-354_good-health_to-be-stupid-selfish-and-have-good-healt_2580760.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/gustave-flaubert-354_good-health_to-be-stupid-selfish-and-have-good-healt_2580760.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/gustave-flaubert-354_good-health_to-be-stupid-selfish-and-have-good-healt_2580760.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is…” — Gustave Flaubert", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gustave Flaubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To be stupid, selfish, and have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/to-be-stupid-selfish-and-have-good-health-are-three-requirements-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/to-be-stupid-selfish-and-have-good-health-are-three-requirements-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```