--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be a great thing if people could…" description: "\"It would be a great thing if people could be brought to realize that they can never add to the sum of their happiness by doing wrong.\" — John Lubbock" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/john-lubbock-8094_add_it-would-be-a-great-thing-if-people-coul_1219932.png" --- # It would be a great thing if people could be brought to… ![“It would be a great thing if people could be brought to realize that they can never add to the sum of their happiness by doing wrong.” quote by John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/john-lubbock-8094_add_it-would-be-a-great-thing-if-people-coul_1219932.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/john-lubbock-8094_add_it-would-be-a-great-thing-if-people-coul_1219932.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/john-lubbock-8094_add_it-would-be-a-great-thing-if-people-coul_1219932.png) > “It would be a great thing if people could be brought to realize that they can never add to the sum of their happiness by doing wrong.” [John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wrongdoing cannot increase overall happiness; moral actions are the only way to improve collective well‑being. **In simple terms:** Bad actions don't add to happiness. Key Takeaway Choose ethical behavior. Themes ethics happiness collective welfare morality personal responsibility Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - policy making - community leadership - personal decision making Key Concepts utilitarianism moral philosophy social contract Questions to Reflect On - What actions do you justify for personal gain? - How does personal integrity affect societal happiness? A Different Perspective Ethical choices may require short‑term sacrifice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Great things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-things/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“If you're stressing over happiness, you're doing it wrong!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/if-you-re-stressing-over-happiness-you-re-doing-it-wrong/) [Shannon L. 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How absurd- to want pain! Can there be anyone who doesn't know that pain is a negative quality, and that if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/great-benefactor-how-absurd-to-want-pain-can-there-be-anyone-who/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [I'm DONE pleasing everyone else. I'm gonna do what I wanna do because I wanna do it for MY OWN happiness. I'm doing things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-done-pleasing-everyone-else-i-m-gonna-do-what-i-wanna-do-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The world when seen through a little child's eyes, greatly resembles paradise. Happiness is doing with a smile what you have to do anyway.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-world-when-seen-through-a-little-child-s-eyes-greatly-resembles/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Happiness is not about doing what you want. It's about wanting what you do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-stern/happiness-is-not-about-doing-what-you-want-it-s-about-wanting-what/) [Shawn Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-stern/) > [“Happiness is not doing what you want but wanting what you do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/happiness-is-not-doing-what-you-want-but-wanting-what-you-do/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [True happiness is doing what you love with the people you love. At least that's what everyone says. 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Happiness comes from all little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/happiness-is-not-which-you-can-buy-from-money-happiness-is-not-you/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) ## More by John Lubbock > [Many of the greatest men have owed their success to industry rather than to cleverness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lubbock/many-of-the-greatest-men-have-owed-their-success-to-industry-rather/) [John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) > [Savages have often been likened to children, and the comparison is not only correct but also highly instructive. Many naturalists consider that the early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lubbock/savages-have-often-been-likened-to-children-and-the-comparison-is-not/) [John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) > [There can be no merit in believing something which you can neither explain nor understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lubbock/there-can-be-no-merit-in-believing-something-which-you-can-neither/) [John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) > [Many savage nations worship trees, and I really think my first feeling would be one of delight and interest rather than of surprise, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lubbock/many-savage-nations-worship-trees-and-i-really-think-my-first-feeling/) [John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) > [Many a blessing has been recognized too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lubbock/many-a-blessing-has-been-recognized-too-late/) [John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) > [Art trains the mind through the eye, and the eye through the mind. 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Set high intentions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lubbock/this-is-a-great-way-to-become-more-conscious-your-intention-and/) [John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) > [Exercise of the muscles keeps the body in health, and exercise of the brain brings peace of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lubbock/exercise-of-the-muscles-keeps-the-body-in-health-and-exercise-of-the/) [John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) > [Though it is a great mistake to make friends of the wicked and foolish, it is unwise to make enemies of them, for they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lubbock/though-it-is-a-great-mistake-to-make-friends-of-the-wicked-and/) [John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) [Explore all 84 John Lubbock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) ## More Add quotes > [Most marriages don't add two people together. 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Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/) [Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, 'Let no one be called happy till his death;' to which I would add, 'Let no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-greeks-said-grandly-in-their-tragic-phrase-let-no-one-be-called/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Mostly we just add to the piles of rainbow glass that's been blown off the exteriors of the cany-colored buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/mostly-we-just-add-to-the-piles-of-rainbow-glass-that-s-been-blown/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Global is a unifying bond for people. 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