Ten things are necessary for happiness in this life， the first being a good digestion， and the other nine—money； so at least it is said by our modern philosophers. Yet the author of A Gentle Life speaks more truly in saying that the Divine creation includes thousands of superfluous joys which are totally unnecessary to the bare support of life.

He alone is the happy man who has learned to extract happiness—not from ideal conditions， but from the actual ones about him. The man who has mastered the secret will not wait for ideal surroundings； he will not wait until next year， next decade， until he gets rich， until he can travel abroad， until he can afford to surround himself with works of the great masters； but he will make the most out of life today， where he is.

Paradise is here or nowhere， and you must take your joy with you or you will never find it.

It is after business hours， not in them， that men break down. Men must， like Philip Amour， turn the key on business when they leave it， and at once unlock the doors of some wholesome recreation. Dr. Lyman Beecher used to divert himself with a violin. He had a regular system of what he called “unwinding”， thus relieving the great strain put upon him.

“A man，” says Dr. Johnson， “should spend part of his time with the laughers.”

Humor was Lincolns life preserver， as it has been of thousands of others. “If it were not for this，” he used to say， “I should die.” His jests and quaint stories lighted the gloom of dark hours of national peril.

“Next to virtue，” said Agnes Strickland， “the fun in this world is what we can least share.”

“I have fun from morning till night，” said the editor Charles A. Dana to a friend who was growing prematurely old. “Do you read novels， and play billiards， and walk a great deal？”

要滿(mǎn)足幸福生活，就必須具備十個(gè)條件。第一是要有良好的消化能力，其他九個(gè)無(wú)一例外都是金錢(qián)。最起碼當(dāng)代的哲學(xué)家們是這樣說(shuō)的。不過(guò)，《溫柔的生活》的作者卻有著更為現(xiàn)實(shí)的看法，他說(shuō)這種神圣產(chǎn)物蘊(yùn)含著不計(jì)其數(shù)的歡樂(lè)，如果一個(gè)人對(duì)生活毫無(wú)所求的話(huà)，這些歡樂(lè)是根本沒(méi)有必要的。

他自己便是一個(gè)享受快樂(lè)的人，他知道如何尋覓快樂(lè)——不是來(lái)源于理想狀態(tài)的幻想，而是來(lái)源于身邊的實(shí)際生活。一個(gè)人若是領(lǐng)悟了這個(gè)秘訣，就不會(huì)期待不切實(shí)際的幻境，不會(huì)等待下一年、下一個(gè)十年的到來(lái)，不會(huì)等到自己成為富人，不會(huì)等到自己能夠去國(guó)外旅行，也不會(huì)默默地等待自己擁有一切，而是盡情地享受今天的生活，把握當(dāng)下。

每個(gè)角落都是天堂，但你的心中一定要帶著歡樂(lè)，否則你將永遠(yuǎn)錯(cuò)過(guò)它。

人們應(yīng)該在工作時(shí)間之外放松精神，而不是在工作時(shí)間之內(nèi)。人們應(yīng)該以菲利普·阿穆?tīng)枮榘駱?，在完成工作后，就將其拋之身后，并立馬打開(kāi)有益于健康的娛樂(lè)大門(mén)。萊曼·比徹博士經(jīng)常利用一把小提琴來(lái)調(diào)節(jié)自己的心情。他有一套被他稱(chēng)為“解縛”的完備方法，并以此來(lái)消除自己的緊張感。

約翰遜博士建議：“一個(gè)人應(yīng)當(dāng)多花一些時(shí)間來(lái)歡笑。”

同許多的普通人一樣，幽默是林肯快樂(lè)的秘訣。他常掛在嘴邊的一句話(huà)便是：“如果不是因?yàn)檫@樣，我可能早就活不下去了?！闭撬男υ?huà)和新奇的故事，為處于低潮時(shí)期的國(guó)家?guī)?lái)一片光明。

艾格尼絲·斯特里克蘭說(shuō)：“除了美德，歡笑也是這個(gè)世界上我們能夠分享得最少的東西之一。”

編輯查爾斯·安德森·達(dá)納對(duì)一個(gè)未老先衰的朋友說(shuō)：“我整天都很快樂(lè)。”并問(wèn)他，“你平時(shí)看小說(shuō)、打臺(tái)球、散步嗎？”

Gladstone early formed a habit of looking on the bright side of things， and never lost a moments sleep by worrying about public business.

There are many out-of-door sports， and the very presence of nature is to many a great joy. How true it is that， if we are cheerful and contented， all nature smiles with us—the air seems more balmy， the sky more clear， the earth has a brighter green， the trees have a richer foliage， the flowers are more fragrant， the birds sing more sweetly， and the sun， moon， and stars all appear more beautiful. It is a grand thing to live—to open the eyes in the morning and look out upon the world， to drink in the pure air and enjoy the sweet sunshine， to feel the pulse bound，and the being thrill with the consciousness of strength and power in every nerve； it is a good thing simply to be alive， and it is a good world we live in， in spite of the abuse we are fond of giving it.

Upon every side of us is to be found what one has happily called—unworked joy mines.

And he who goes “prospecting” to see what he can daily discover is a wise man， training his eyes to see beauty in everything and everywhere.

“One ought， every day，” says Goethe， “at least to hear a little song， read a good poem， see a fine picture， and， if it were possible， to speak a few reasonable words.” And if this be good for ones self， why not try the song， the poem， the picture， and the good words on someone else？ Shall music and poetry die out of you while you are struggling for that which can never enrich the character， nor add to the souls worth？ Shall a disciplined imagination fill the mind with beautiful pictures？ He who has intellectual resources to fall back upon will not lack for daily recreation most wholesome...

In the world of books， what is grand and inspiring may easily become a part of every mans life. A fondness for good literature， for good fiction， for travel， for abundant history， and for biography—what is better than this？Gladstone early formed a habit of looking on the bright side of things， and never lost a moments sleep by worrying about public business.

There are many out-of-door sports， and the very presence of nature is to many a great joy. How true it is that， if we are cheerful and contented， all nature smiles with us—the air seems more balmy， the sky more clear， the earth has a brighter green， the trees have a richer foliage， the flowers are more fragrant， the birds sing more sweetly， and the sun， moon， and stars all appear more beautiful. It is a grand thing to live—to open the eyes in the morning and look out upon the world， to drink in the pure air and enjoy the sweet sunshine， to feel the pulse bound，and the being thrill with the consciousness of strength and power in every nerve； it is a good thing simply to be alive， and it is a good world we live in， in spite of the abuse we are fond of giving it.

Upon every side of us is to be found what one has happily called—unworked joy mines.

And he who goes “prospecting” to see what he can daily discover is a wise man， training his eyes to see beauty in everything and everywhere.

“One ought， every day，” says Goethe， “at least to hear a little song， read a good poem， see a fine picture， and， if it were possible， to speak a few reasonable words.” And if this be good for ones self， why not try the song， the poem， the picture， and the good words on someone else？ Shall music and poetry die out of you while you are struggling for that which can never enrich the character， nor add to the souls worth？ Shall a disciplined imagination fill the mind with beautiful pictures？ He who has intellectual resources to fall back upon will not lack for daily recreation most wholesome...

In the world of books， what is grand and inspiring may easily become a part of every mans life. A fondness for good literature， for good fiction， for travel， for abundant history， and for biography—what is better than this？