Nevertheless, taking life as a whole, believing that it consists not in what we have, but in our power of enjoying the same; that there are in it things nobler and dearer than ease, plenty, or freedom from care - nay, even than existence itself; surely it is not Quixotism, but common-sense and Christianity, to protest that love is better than outside show, labour than indolence, virtue than mere respectability.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- True fulfillment comes from inner capacity to enjoy life and prioritizing love, labor, and virtue over material comfort or status.
- In plain terms
- Life's value lies in how we enjoy it and in virtues like love and work, not in wealth or ease.
- What can you take from it?
- Prioritize inner virtues over external show.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What do you value most in life?
- Is ease truly less noble than labor?
Another view
It assumes a universal capacity to find joy in labor which may not hold for all.
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