We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet and, amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog, has made an alliance with us.
chance
For, when with beauty we can virtue join, we paint the semblance of a form divine.
beauty
All our knowledge merely helps us to die a more painful death than the animals that know nothing
deathanddying knowledge
In the world which we know, among the different and primitive geniuses that preside over the evolution of the several species, there exists not one, excepting that of the dog, that ever gave a thought to the presence of man
genius world
An act of goodness is of itself an act of happiness. No reward coming after the event can compare with the sweet reward that went with it.
goodness happiness
Happiness is rarely absent; it is we that know not of its presence
happiness
We possess only the happiness we are able to understand
Remember that happiness is as contagious as gloom. It should be the first duty of those who are happy to let others know of their gladness.
duty happiness
To be happy is only to have freed one's soul from the unrest of unhappiness
Do we not all spend the greater part of our lives under the shadow of an event that has not yet come to pass?
living
Niemand is waarlijk mijn vriend, voordat we geleerd hebben in elkanders tegenwoordigheid te zwijgen.
friendship
When we lose one we love, our bitterest tears are called forth by the memory of hours when we loved not enough.
inspirational lost tso-love
Besides, I myself have now for a long time ceased to look for anything more beautiful in this world, or more interesting, than the truth; or at least than the effort one is able to make towards the truth.
beauty truth
As soon as we put something into words, we devalue it in a strange way. We think we have plunged into the depths of the abyss, and when we return to the surface the drop of water on our pale fingertips no longer resembles the sea from which it comes. We delude ourselves that we have discovered a wonderful treasure trove, and when we return to the light of day we find that we have brought back only false stones and shards of glass; and yet the treasure goes on glimmering in the dark, unaltered.
life wisdom
Many a happiness in life, as many a disaster, can be due to chance, but the peace within us can never be governed by chance.
chance disaster happiness life peace