Great Throughts Treasury

"A pleasant and happy life does not come from external things. Man draws from within himself as from a spring, pleasure and joy." - Plutarch, named Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus after becoming Roman citizen NULL

"I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was duty. I acted and behold, duty [service] was joy." -

"In love we find a joy which is ultimate because it is the ultimate truth." -

"Joy is the realization of the truth of one-ness, the oneness of our soul with the world and of the world-soul with the supreme love." -

"Man’s freedom is never in being saved troubles, but it is the freedom to take for his own good, and to make the trouble an element in his joy." -

"The Infinite Being is not complete if He remains absolutely infinite. He must realize Himself through the finite; that is, through creation. The impulse to realize comes from the fullness of joy; but the process must be through pain." -

"The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers. It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death, in ebb and in flow. I feel my limbs made glorious by the touch of this world of life. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment." -

"The wonder is not that there should be obstacles and sufferings in this world, but that there should be law and order, beauty and joy, goodness and love." -

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in." -

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in." -

"Talent for talents’ sake is a bauble and a show. Talent working with joy in the cause of universal truth lifts the possessor to new power as a benefactor." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Nature is sanitive, refining, elevating. How cunning she hides every wrinkle of her inconceivable antiquity under roses and violets and morning dew! Every inch; of the mountains is scarred by unimaginable convulsions, yet the new day is purpose with the bloom of youth and joy." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Nothing will supply the want of sunshine to peaches and, to make knowledge valuable you must have the cheerfulness of wisdom. Whenever you are sincerely pleased you are nourished. The joy of the spirit indicates its strength. All healthy things are sweet-tempered. Genius works in sport, and goodness smiles to the last." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"One more royal trait properly belongs to the poet. I mean his cheerfulness, without which no man can be a poet, for beauty is his aim. He loves virtue, not for its obligation, but for its grace; he delights in the world, in man, in woman, for the lovely light that sparkles from them. Beauty, the spirit of joy and hilarity, he sheds over the universe." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Talent for talent's sake is a bauble and a show. Talent working with joy in the cause of universal truth lifts the possessor to a new power as a benefactor." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The glory of Friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to ne when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The life of man is the true romance, which when it is valiantly conduced, will yield the imagination a higher joy than any fiction." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"With thought, with the ideal, is immortal hilarity, the rose of joy. Round it all the muses sing." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The glory of Friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship. My friends have come unsought. The great God gave them to me." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. 'Tis good to give a stranger a meal, or a night's lodging. 'Tis better to be hospitable to his good meaning and thought, and give courage to a companion. We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The richness of life; the love and joy and exhilaration of life can be found only with an upward look. This is an exciting world. It is cram-packed with opportunity. Great moments wait around every corner." - Richard M. DeVos, Sr.

"Joy is not in things; it is in us." - Richard Wagner, fully Wilhelm Richard Wagner

"How good is man's life, the mere living! how fit to employ all the heart and the soul and the sense for ever in joy!" - Robert Browning

"How good is man’s life, the mere living! how fit to employ all the heart and soul and the senses forever in joy!" - Robert Browning

"Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind, it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness off the deep springs of life. Youth means the temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living." - Samuel Ullman

"Whatever joy there is in this world all comes from desiring others to be happy, and whatever suffering there is in this world all comes from desiring myself to be happy." -

"All the joy the world contains has come through wishing happiness for others. All the misery the world contains has come through wanting pleasure for oneself." -

"We are rising to the conviction that we are a part of nature, and so a part of God; that the whole creation – the One and the many and the All-One – is travailing together toward some great end; and that now, after ages of development, we have at length become conscious portions of the great scheme, and can cooperate in it with knowledge and joy." - Oliver Lodge, fully Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge

"What thou givest after thy death, remember that thou givest it to a stranger, and most times to an enemy; for he that shall marry thy wife will despise thee, thy memory and thine, and shall possess the quiet of thy labors, the fruit which thou hast planted, enjoy thy love, and spend with joy and ease what thou hast spared and gotten with care and travail." - Walter Raleigh, fully Sir Walter Raleigh

"We find in God all the excellences of light, truth, wisdom, greatness, goodness and life. Light gives joy and gladness; truth gives satisfaction; wisdom gives learning and instruction; greatness excites admiration; goodness produces love and gratitude; life gives immortality and insures enjoyment." - William Jones, fully Sir William Jones of Nayland, aka Trinity Jones

"There is no wealth greater than the health of the body, there is no joy greater than the joy of the heart... A cheerful heart causes man's life to blossom, while the spirit of sadness dries the bones. Never rejoice at other people's misfortunes, for you cannot know when adversity may come to you." - Solomon, fully King Solomon, aka Jedidiah NULL

"These people are like… a frog living in a well, who has never seen the outside world. He knows only his well, so he will not believe that there is such a thing as the world. Likewise, people talk so much about the world because they have not known the joy of God." -

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace where there is hatred... let me sow love. Where there is injury... pardon. Where there is doubt... faith. Where there is despair... hope. Where there is darkness... light. Where there is sadness... joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled... as to console, to be understood... as to understand; to be loved... as to love, for it is in giving... that we receive. It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned, it is in dying... that we are born to eternal life." - Saint Francis of Assisi, born Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone NULL

"In joy and sorrow, in pleasure and pain, one should act towards others as one would have them act toward oneself." - Mahabharata or The Mahabharata NULL

"The Divine Presence does not dwell in the midst of idleness, sadness, jocularity, levity or idle chatter, but rather in the joy derived from a virtuous deed." - Talmud or The Talmud NULL

"A man's usefulness depends upon his living up to his ideals insofar as he can. It is hard to fail but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. All daring and courage, all iron endurance of misfortune, make for a finer, nobler type of manhood. Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die, and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of the life and the duty of life." - Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt

"The joy of a good man is the witness of a good conscience; have a good conscience and thou shalt ever have gladness." - Thomas Kempis, aka Thomas à Kempis, Thomas von Kempen, Thomas Haemerkken or Hammerlein or Hemerken or Hämerken

"Without kindness, there can be no true joy." - Thomas Carlyle

"I learned through the wisdom of Creation that man works for only four things in life: peace, love, joy and purpose; and these things cannot be found in external things and possessions. They can only be found within." - Tom Brown, Jr.

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." - William A. Ward, fully William Arthur Ward

"Land of Heart's Desire, where beauty has no ebb, decay no flood, but joy is wisdom, Time an endless song." - William Butler Yeats

"Love and joy are twins, or born of each other." - William Hazlitt

"Silence is the perfectest herald of joy: I were but little happy, if I could say how much." - William Shakespeare

"Things won are done; joy's soul lies in the doing." - William Shakespeare

"Every moment can be viewed as new... You cause yourself a great loss by not living in the present... Don’t let the past weigh you down... Realize what is over is over... The future is always an unknown entity so learn to focus on the present... Learn to concentrate on what you are presently doing... Always try to utilize your present moments for growth... If you master feeling joy in your present moments, you need never be concerned you are missing anything, since whatever you are engaged in can be transformed into an elevating experience... You can alleviate pain by living in the present." - Zelig Pliskin

"Even on the path to God, All is God. You are freed from your own desires only when God frees you. This is not effected by your own exertion, but by the grace of God... Then you entirely recognize that you do not have the right to say “I” or “mine.” At this stage you behold your helplessness; desires fall away from you and you become free and calm. You desire what God desires; your own desires are gone, you are emancipated from your wants, and I have gained peace and joy in both worlds. First, action is necessary, then knowledge, in order that you may know that you know nothing and are no one. This is not easy to know. It is a thing that cannot be rightly learned by instruction, nor sewed on with needle nor tied on with thread. It is the gift of God." - Abu Sa’id ibn abi Khayr

"The law which we must obey, if we would know God as love, is itself a law of love. To those who obey the law come what St. Paul termed the three fruits of the spirit: peace, love, joy." - Aldous Leonard Huxley

"Sadness is a great obstacle to serving the Almighty. A person who has transgressed should not become excessively sad since this will prevent him from further spiritual growth. One should feel deep regret for the wrong he has done and then continue to feel joy in his relationship with the Almighty since he has sincere regret and is resolved not to repeat his transgression." - Baal Shem Tov, given name Yisroel ben Eliezer

"The Almighty has sent you into this world on an appointed errand. It is His will that you accomplish your errand in a state of joy. Sadness implies an unwillingness on your part to carry out the Almighty’s will." - Baal Shem Tov, given name Yisroel ben Eliezer

"The desire which springs from joy, other things being equal, is strong than that which springs from sorrow." -