It is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Happiness requires mental faithfulness to oneself. Infidelity is professing to believe what you do not actually believe.
- In plain terms
- Be true to your own beliefs to be happy.
- What can you take from it?
- Do not pretend to believe what you do not.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Are you faithful to yourself?
- What does happiness require?
Another view
Beliefs can change without dishonesty.
More from Thomas Paine
Whenever we read the obscene stories the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness with which more than half …
Permalink to quote #29 It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prosti…
Permalink to quote #31 All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind…
Permalink to quote #28
Related quotes
Theoretically there is a perfect possibility of happiness: believing in the indestructible element in oneself and not striving towards it.
Franz KafkaFranz Kafka quote #38 If solid happiness we prize, Within our breast this jewel lies, And they are fools who roam. The world has nothing to bestow; From our own selves our joys must…
Nathaniel CottonNathaniel Cotton quote #1 A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true.
DemosthenesDemosthenes quote #2