“ Life is not to be conceived on the analogy of a melodrama in which the hero and heroine go through incredible misfortunes for which they are compensated by a happy ending. ”
Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness (1930). copy citation
Author | Bertrand Russell |
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Source | The Conquest of Happiness |
Topic | misfortune life |
Date | 1930 |
Language | English |
Reference | |
Note | |
Weblink | http://russell-j.com/beginner/COH-TEXT.HTM |
Context
“The habit of looking to the future and thinking that the whole meaning of the present lies in what it will bring forth is a pernicious one. There can be no value in the whole unless there is value in the parts. Life is not to be conceived on the analogy of a melodrama in which the hero and heroine go through incredible misfortunes for which they are compensated by a happy ending. I live and have my day, my son succeeds me and has his day, his son in turn succeeds him. What is there in all this to make a tragedy about? On the contrary, if I lived for ever the joys of life would inevitably in the end lose their savour.”
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