“ Every man is a suffering-machine and a happiness-machine combined. ”
Mark Twain, The Mysterious Stranger (1916). copy citation
| Author | Mark Twain |
|---|---|
| Source | The Mysterious Stranger |
| Topic | happiness machine |
| Date | 1916 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3186/3186-h/3186-h.htm |
Context
“Where is the need? I know what the consequences are going to be—always.”
“Oh, Satan, then how could you do these things?”
“Well, I will tell you, and you must understand if you can. You belong to a singular race. Every man is a suffering-machine and a happiness-machine combined. The two functions work together harmoniously, with a fine and delicate precision, on the give-and-take principle. For every happiness turned out in the one department the other stands ready to modify it with a sorrow or a pain—maybe a dozen.”
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