Samuel Johnson

He that outlives a wife whom he has long loved, sees himself disjoined from the only mind that has the same hopes, and fears, and interest; from the only companion with whom he has shared much good and evil; and with whom he could set his mind at liberty, to retrace the past or anticipate the future. The continuity of being is lacerated; the settled course of sentiment and action is stopped; and life stands suspended and motionless.

There are some sluggish men who are improved by drinking; as there are fruits that are not good until they are rotten.

Sir, a man who cannot get to heaven in a green coat, will not find his way thither the sooner in a gray one.

Never, my dear Sir, do you take it into your head that I do not love you; you may settle yourself in full confidence both of my love and my esteem; I love you as a kind man, I value you as a worthy man, and hope in time to reverence you as a man of exemplary piety.

Virtue is too often merely local.

Life must be filled up, and the man who is not capable of intellectual pleasures must content himself with such as his senses can afford.

Anybody who thinks money will make you happy, hasn’t got money.

It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.

To fill the hour – that is happiness.

What’s the use of happiness? It can’t buy you money.

Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.

Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.

When I hold you in my arms and I feel my finger on your trigger I know no one can do me no harm because happiness is a warm gun.

The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.

Pierre was right when he said that one must believe in the possibility of happiness in order to be happy, and I now believe in it. Let the dead bury the dead, but while I’m alive, I must live and be happy.

Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes.

While I am opposed to all orthodox creeds, I have a creed myself; and my creed is this. Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so. This creed is somewhat short, but it is long enough for this life, strong enough for this world. If there is another world, when we get there we can make another creed.

The smallest seed of faith is better than the largest fruit of happiness.

Choose happiness, not success, as your life’s goal. If you become successful but aren’t happy, then what is the point?

Happiness ain’t a thing in itself -it’s only a contrast with something that ain’t pleasant. And so, as soon as the novelty is over and the force of the contrast dulled, it ain’t happiness any longer, and you have to get something fresh.

I think happiness is love.