(Robert G. Ingersoll, 1833 - 1890)
From "The Liberty of All".
Some people tell me, "Your doctrine about loving, and wives, and all that, is splendid for the rich, but it won't do for the poor." I tell you to-night there is more love in the homes of the poor than in the palaces of the rich. The meanest hut with love in it is a palace fit for the gods, and a palace without love is a den only fit for wild beasts. That is my doctrine! You cannot be so poor that you cannot help somebody. Good nature is the cheapest commodity in the world; and love is the only thing that will pay ten per cent to borrower and lender both. Do not tell me that you have got to be rich! We have a false standard of greatness in the United States. We think here that a man must be great, that he must be notorious; that he must be extremely wealthy, or that his name must be upon the putrid lips of rumor. It is all a mistake. It is not necessary to be rich or to be great, or to be powerful, to be happy. The happy man is the successful man.
Happiness is the legal tender of the soul. Joy is wealth.
2 comments:
Nice hearing from you on my blog. You seem to have lots of the stuff that interests me, so your blog went into my RSS-feed reader :-)
I'm still on a high after listening to James Randi for 2 hours last night here in Bergen. He's visiting the Norwegian Humanist Association this week.
Hello! And how is Mr. Randi? I understand he's been dealing with health issues of late.
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