'Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough.' 'Come, then,' returned the nephew gaily. 'What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You're rich enough.'

I should have liked, I do confess, to have had the lightest license of a child, and yet to have been man enough to know its value.

'Why do you doubt your senses?' [asks Marley's Ghost] 'Because,' said Scrooge, 'a little thing affects them. A slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats…

'Bah!' said Scrooge, 'Humbug!'

Those who have easy, cheerful attitudes tend to be happier than those with less pleasant temperaments, regardless of money, 'making it', or success.

Recommend virtue to your children; it alone, not money, can make them happy. I speak from experience.

Familles, je vous hais! foyers clos; portes refermees; possessions jalouses du bonheur.