“ Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured and little to be enjoyed. ”
Samuel Johnson, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759). copy citation
| Author | Samuel Johnson |
|---|---|
| Source | The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia |
| Topic | life pain joy |
| Date | 1759 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/652/652-h/652-h.htm |
Context
“«They are surely happy,» said the Prince, «who have all these conveniences, of which I envy none so much as the facility with which separated friends interchange their thoughts.»
«The Europeans,» answered Imlac, «are less p. 54unhappy than we, but they are not happy. Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured and little to be enjoyed.»
CHAPTER XII THE STORY OF IMLAC (continued). «I am not willing,» said the Prince, «to suppose that happiness is so parsimoniously distributed to mortals, nor can I believe but that, if I had the choice of life, I should be able to fill every day with pleasure.” source
«The Europeans,» answered Imlac, «are less p. 54unhappy than we, but they are not happy. Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured and little to be enjoyed.»
CHAPTER XII THE STORY OF IMLAC (continued). «I am not willing,» said the Prince, «to suppose that happiness is so parsimoniously distributed to mortals, nor can I believe but that, if I had the choice of life, I should be able to fill every day with pleasure.” source
Meaning and analysis
