It is not necessary to be great to be happy; it is not necessary to be rich to be just and generous and to have a heart filled with divine affection.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Happiness and virtue do not require greatness or wealth; they come from inner affection.
- In plain terms
- You do not need to be rich or great to be happy and kind.
- What can you take from it?
- True worth comes from character and affection, not status or wealth.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What defines a good life?
- Does wealth hinder virtue?
Another view
It overlooks how material stability supports moral actions.
More from Robert G. Ingersoll
It is impossible for a man to be respectable enough to make a mistake respectable.
Permalink to quote #157 Kindness is the sunshine in which the virtues grow.
Permalink to quote #159 It is far more important to love your wife than to love God, and I will tell you why. You cannot help him, but you can help her. You can fill her life with the…
Permalink to quote #156
Related quotes
Courage is not a virtue of value among other personal values like love or fidelity. It is the foundation that underlies and gives reality to all other virtues …
Rollo MayRollo May quote #37 So little in his purse, so much upon his back.
Joseph HallJoseph Hall quote #1 Forse, se tu gustassi anco una volta La millesima parte de la gioie Che gusta un cor amato riamando, Diresti, ripentita, sospirando: Perduto e tutto il tempo C…
Torquato TassoTorquato Tasso quote #1