Philosophy on contentment
10 passages from 9 thinkers — Socrates, Epictetus, Seneca, John Stuart Mill, Carl Jung and others — on contentment.
“He is richest who is content with the least.”
“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”
“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.”
“I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.”
“Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health.”
“'Tis only from the selfishness and confin'd generosity of men, along with the scanty provision nature has made for his wants, that justice derives its origin.”
“It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?”
“Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?”
“It needs to realize that what happens to everyone—bad and good alike—is neither good nor bad. (Hays translation)”
“For he that hath strength enough to protect all, wants not sufficiency to oppresse all.”