--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One is not always happy when one is good…" description: "\"One is not always happy when one is good; but one is always good when one is happy.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/oscar-wilde-16_always-happy_one-is-not-always-happy-when-one-is-good_1067059.jpg" --- # One is not always happy when one is good; but one is… ![“One is not always happy when one is good; but one is always good when one is happy.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/oscar-wilde-16_always-happy_one-is-not-always-happy-when-one-is-good_1067059.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/oscar-wilde-16_always-happy_one-is-not-always-happy-when-one-is-good_1067059.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/oscar-wilde-16_always-happy_one-is-not-always-happy-when-one-is-good_1067059.jpg) > “One is not always happy when one is good; but one is always good when one is happy.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness and goodness are not always linked; moral virtue can exist without joy, but joy often reflects moral goodness. **In simple terms:** Being good doesn't guarantee happiness, but happiness often signals goodness. Key Takeaway Seek moral integrity, not just pleasure. Themes morality happiness philosophy Mood contemplative inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal fulfillment - community service - leadership - mental health Key Concepts ethics psychology Questions to Reflect On - Can one be virtuous while suffering? - Is happiness always a sign of goodness? A Different Perspective It may idealize happiness as a moral metric. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always-happy/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-good/) [Good Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-happy-401983/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) [Happy Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-good/) ## Related quotes > [When we are happy, we are always good, but when we are good, we are not always happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/when-we-are-happy-we-are-always-good-but-when-we-are-good-we-are-not/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Being happy, not because everything is good, but you're happy because it simply that you can see the good side of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joffrey-lagura/being-happy-not-because-everything-is-good-but-you-re-happy-because/) [Joffrey Lagura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joffrey-lagura/) > [“If they are way too happy.They are either up to no good, on something or up to no good while on something. I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-cowles/if-they-are-way-too-happy-they-are-either-up-to-no-good-on-something/) [R.K. Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-cowles/) > [Be happy not because everything is good, but because you can see the good side of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-happy-not-because-everything-is-good-but-because-you-can-see-the-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be happy, not because everything is good, but because you can see the good in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anmol-andore/be-happy-not-because-everything-is-good-but-because-you-can-see-the/) [Anmol Andore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anmol-andore/) > [It's good to be happy and tell us how cool your life is and how awesome you are on social media. That's great because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-smith/it-s-good-to-be-happy-and-tell-us-how-cool-your-life-is-and-how/) [Jaden Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-smith/) > [“Pleasure is Nature’s test, her sign of approval. When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/pleasure-is-nature-s-test-her-sign-of-approval-when-we-are-happy-we/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Lifes good when you're happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lifes-good-when-you-re-happy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone may not be good, but there's always something good in everyone. Never judge anyone shortly because every saint has a past and every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/everyone-may-not-be-good-but-there-s-always-something-good-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If the show sucks, I ain't happy. If the show is damn good, I'm very happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-a-smith/if-the-show-sucks-i-ain-t-happy-if-the-show-is-damn-good-i-m-very/) [Stephen A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-smith/) > [Always good to be happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-ahire/always-good-to-be-happy/) [Sonali Ahire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-ahire/) > [“It is not that one is good; one is happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-forneret/it-is-not-that-one-is-good-one-is-happy/) [Xavier Forneret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-forneret/) > [It is good to be happy, but it is even better to bring happiness to others and make them happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/it-is-good-to-be-happy-but-it-is-even-better-to-bring-happiness-to/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [It feels so good to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etta-james/it-feels-so-good-to-be-happy/) [Etta James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etta-james/) > [Life is good, and I'm happy, and I don't know that it would be as good if I'd been the winner in Calgary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-the-eagle/life-is-good-and-i-m-happy-and-i-don-t-know-that-it-would-be-as-good/) [Eddie the Eagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-the-eagle/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Always happy quotes > [I had forgotten that talking to you is like trying to pet a cactus." Saiman said dryly. "Thank you for reminding me." "Always happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-had-forgotten-that-talking-to-you-is-like-trying-to-pet-a-cactus/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Our own true nature is Infinite Joy! Always happy, Always peaceful, Always free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-satchidananda/our-own-true-nature-is-infinite-joy-always-happy-always-peaceful/) [Swami Satchidananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-satchidananda/) > [I'm always happy when I hear about people selling records or selling books or selling movies. It makes me proud of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mackaye/i-m-always-happy-when-i-hear-about-people-selling-records-or-selling/) [Ian MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mackaye/) > ["I want to be always happy," Maxine Hong Kingston announces . But, as this interview makes clear, for me, it was the desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-want-to-be-always-happy-maxine-hong-kingston-announces-but-as-this/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [ \[People say\]'You're always happy' and I'm, like, sometimes I have a huge zit on my face. But if you smile, people won't notice that.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheyenne-kimball/people-say-you-re-always-happy-and-i-m-like-sometimes-i-have-a-huge/) [Cheyenne Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheyenne-kimball/) > [Man is never always happy, and very often only a brief period of happiness is granted him in this world; so why escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/man-is-never-always-happy-and-very-often-only-a-brief-period-of/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [At the end of our time on earth, if we have lived fully, we will not be able to say, 'I was always happy.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-de-angelis/at-the-end-of-our-time-on-earth-if-we-have-lived-fully-we-will-not-be/) [Barbara De Angelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-de-angelis/) > [Even now if I see someone working out, in great shape, like a 40-year-old guy with his shirt off jogging I always think, "Look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-apatow/even-now-if-i-see-someone-working-out-in-great-shape-like-a-40-year/) [Judd Apatow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-apatow/) > [I'm a very positive person, but this whole concept of having to always be nice, always smiling, always happy, that's not real. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-keys/i-m-a-very-positive-person-but-this-whole-concept-of-having-to-always/) [Alicia Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-keys/) > [I'm always happy. I've just got a mean face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/i-m-always-happy-i-ve-just-got-a-mean-face/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [My philosophy involves imaging terrible things happening all the time, and getting used to it, so reality isn't so bad. And then you're always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-sweeney/my-philosophy-involves-imaging-terrible-things-happening-all-the-time/) [Julia Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-sweeney/) > [Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-milne/don-t-underestimate-the-value-of-doing-nothing/) [A. A. Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-milne/) > [A mind always employed is always happy. This is the true secret, the grand recipe, for felicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-mind-always-employed-is-always-happy-this-is-the-true-secret-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I'm always happy when I learn more about communication in the wide free scope of that word. So next is a move, getting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-andrews/i-m-always-happy-when-i-learn-more-about-communication-in-the-wide/) [Giuseppe Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-andrews/) > [I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/i-have-just-one-day-today-and-i-m-going-to-be-happy-in-it/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) [Browse all 88 Always happy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always-happy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One is not always happy when one is good; but one is always good when one is happy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/one-is-not-always-happy-when-one-is-good-but-one-is-always-good-when/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Always happy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/one-is-not-always-happy-when-one-is-good-but-one-is-always-good-when/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/oscar-wilde-16_always-happy_one-is-not-always-happy-when-one-is-good_1067059.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/oscar-wilde-16_always-happy_one-is-not-always-happy-when-one-is-good_1067059.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/oscar-wilde-16_always-happy_one-is-not-always-happy-when-one-is-good_1067059.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One is not always happy when one is good; but one is always good when one is happy.” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One is not always happy when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/one-is-not-always-happy-when-one-is-good-but-one-is-always-good-when/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/one-is-not-always-happy-when-one-is-good-but-one-is-always-good-when/#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 } } ] } ```