Joseph Droz
The Art of Being Happy
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Table of contents
LETTER I.
LETTER II.THE PHYSICAL, ORGANIC AND MORAL LAWS.
LETTER III.THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.
LETTER IV.GENERAL VIEWS OF THE SUBJECT.
LETTER V.OUR DESIRES.
LETTER VI.TRANQUILLITY OF MIND.
LETTER VII.OF MISFORTUNE.
LETTER VIII.OF INDEPENDENCE.
LETTER IX.OF HEALTH.
LETTER X.OF COMPETENCE.
LETTER XI.OF OPINION AND THE AFFECTION OF MEN.
LETTER XII.OF THE SENTIMENT MEN OUGHT TO INSPIRE.
LETTER XIII.OF SOME OF THE VIRTUES.
LETTER XIV.OF MARRIAGE.
LETTER XV.CHILDREN.
LETTER XVI.OF FRIENDSHIP.
LETTER XVII.THE PLEASURES OF THE SENSES.
LETTER XVIII.THE PLEASURES OF THE HEART.
LETTER XIX.THE PLEASURES OF THE UNDERSTANDING.
LETTER XX.THE PLEASURES OF THE IMAGINATION.
LETTER XXI.MELANCHOLY.
LETTER XXII.RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS.
LETTER XXIII.OF THE RAPIDITY OF LIFE.
LETTER XXIV.ON DEATH.
LETTER XXV.CONCLUSION OF ‘DROZ SUR L’ART D’ETRE HEUREUX.’
LETTER XXVI.THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION.
NOTES.
FOOTNOTES:
LETTER I.
The
following thoughts, my dear children, are those of an affectionate
father going out of life, to those he most loves, who are coming
forward in it. I am perfectly aware, that nothing but time can
impart
all the dear bought instruction of experience. Upon innumerable
questions, that relate to life, you will receive efficient teaching
only by reaping the fruit of your own errors. But one who has
preceded you on the journey, who has listened to the impressive
oracles of years, may impart some aid if you will listen with
docility, to enable you to anticipate the lessons of experimental
acquaintance with the world. In what I am about to write, I trust I
may bring you this aid. As you embark on the uncertain voyage, I
cannot but hope, that your filial piety will incline you to a
frequent recurrence to the parental chart. You are aware, that
circumstances have brought me into contact with all conditions, and
into a view of all the aspects of life. I ought, therefore, to be
qualified to impart useful lessons upon the evils and dangers of
inexperience. You, at least, will not see assumption in such
lessons,
when they result from the remembrance of my own errors. You may
consider what follows, whether it be my own remarks, or what I have
adopted from others, as the gleanings of experimental instruction,
from what I have myself seen, felt, suffered, or enjoyed; and as my
comments upon the influence, which my election of alternatives has
had, upon the amount of my own enjoyment or suffering.You
will find enough who are ready to inspire you with indifference or
disdain for such counsels. They will indolently, and yet
confidently,
assure you, that the theoretical discussion of the pursuit of
happiness is, of all visionary investigations, the most profitless
and inapplicable; that lecture, write, preach as we may, the future
will be, perhaps ought to be, as the past; that the world is always
growing older, without ever growing wiser; and that men are
evidently
no more successful in their search after happiness now, than in the
remotest periods of recorded history. They will affirm that man has
always been the sport of accident, the slave of his passions, the
creature of circumstances; that it is useless to reason, vain to
consult rules, imbecile to surrender independence, to follow the
guidance of those who assume to be wise, or receive instruction
from
those who have been taught by years. They will allege the utter
inefficacy of the lights of reason, philosophy, and religion,
judging
from the little illumination, which they have hitherto shed upon
the
paths of life. On the same ground, and from the same reasonings,
they
might declaim against every attempt, in every form to render the
world wiser and happier. With equal propriety they might say,
‘close
the pulpit, silence the press, cease from parental discipline,
moral
suasion, and the training of education. Do what you will, the world
will go on as before.’ Who does not see the absurdity of such
language? Because we cannot do everything, shall we do nothing?
Because the million float towards the invisible future without any
pole star, or guided only by the presumption of general opinion, is
it proof conclusive that none have been rendered happier in
consequence of having followed wiser guidance, and pursued
happiness
by system?Such
is the practical creed of the great mass, with whom you will be
associated in life. I, on the contrary, think entirely with the
French philosopher, whose precepts you are about to read, that this
general persuasion is palpably false and fatal; that much suffering
may be avoided, and much enjoyment obtained by following rules, and
pursuing happiness by system; that I have had the fortune to meet
with numbers, who were visible proofs that men may learn how to be
happy. I am confident that the far greater portion of human
suffering
is of our own procuring, the result of ignorance and mistaken
views,
and that it is a superfluous and unnecessary mixture of bitterness
in
the cup of human life. I firmly believe that the greater number of
deaths, instead of being the result of specific diseases, to which
they are attributed, are really caused by a series of imperceptible
malign influences, springing from corroding cares, griefs, and
disappointments. To say, that more than half of the human race die
of
sorrow, and a broken heart, or in some way fall victims to their
passions, may seem like advancing a revolting doctrine; but it is,
nevertheless, in my mind, a simple truth.We
do not see
the operations of grief upon some one or all the countless frail
and
delicate constituents of human life. But if physiology could look
through the infinitely complicated web of our structure with the
power of the solar microscope, it would behold every chagrin
searing
some nerve, paralyzing the action of some organ, or closing some
capillary; and that every sigh draws its drop of life blood from
the
heart. Nature is slow in resenting her injuries; but the memory of
them is indelibly impressed, and treasured up for a late, but
certain
revenge. Nervousness, lowness of spirits, headache, and all the
countless train of morbid and deranged corporeal and mental action,
are, at once, the cause and the effect of sorrow and anxiety,
increased by a constant series of action and reaction. Thought and
care become impressed upon the brow. The bland essence of
cheerfulness evaporates. The head becomes shorn of its locks; and
the
frosts of winter gather on the temples. These concurrent influences
silently sap the stamina of life; until, aided by some adventitious
circumstance, which we call cold, fever, epidemic, dyspepsia—death
lays his hand upon the frame that by the sorrows and cares of life
was prepared for his dread office. The bills of mortality assign a
name to the mortal disease different from the true one.Cheerfulness
and equanimity are about the only traits that have invariably
marked
the life of those who have lived to extreme old age. Nothing is
more
clearly settled by experience, than that grief acts as a slow
poison,
not only in the immediate infliction of pain, but in gradually
impairing the powers of life, and in subtracting from the sum of
our
days.If,
then, by any process of instruction, discipline and mental force,
we
can influence our circumstances, banish grief and create
cheerfulness, we can, in the same degree, reduce rules, for the
pursuit of happiness, to a system; and make that system a matter of
science. Can we not do this? The very million who deride the idea
of
seeking for enjoyment through the medium of instruction,
unconsciously exercise the power in question to a certain
extent—though not to the extent, of which they are capable. All
those wise individuals, who have travelled with equanimity and
cheerfulness through the diversified scenes of life, making the
most
of its good, and the least of its evils, bear a general testimony
to
the truth of this fact. We find in them a conviction that they had
such power, and a force of character that enabled them to act
according to their convictions.No
person deserves the name of a philosopher, who is not wise in
relation to the great purpose of life. In the same proportion,
then,
as I convince you, that by our own voluntary, physical and mental
discipline, we can act upon circumstances, and influence our
temperament, and thus bear directly upon our happiness, I shall be
able to stir up your powers, and call forth your energy of
character,
to apply that discipline in your own case. In the same proportion I
shall be instrumental in training you to the highest exercise of
your
reason, and the attainment of true philosophy.The
elements upon which you are to operate, are your circumstances,
habits, and modes of thinking and acting. The
philosopher of circumstances[A]
denies that you can act upon these. But, by his unwearied efforts
to
propagate his system, he proves, that he does not himself act upon
his avowed convictions. The impulse of all our actions from birth
to
death, the spring of all our movements is a conviction, that we can
alter and improve our condition. We have a consciousness stronger
than our reason, that we can control our circumstances. We can
change
our regimen and habits; and by patience and perseverance, even our
temperament. Every one can cite innumerable and most melancholy
instances of those who have done it for evil. The habit of
indulging
in opium, tobacco, ardent spirits, or any of the pernicious
narcotics, soon reduces the physical and mental constitution to
that
temperament, in which these stimulants are felt to be necessary. A
corresponding change is produced in the mind and disposition. The
frequent and regular use of medicine, though it may have been
wholly
necessary at first, finally becomes an inveterate habit. No
phenomenon of physiology is more striking, than the facility with
which the human constitution immediately commences a conformity to
whatsoever change of circumstances, as of climate, habit, or
aliment,
we impose upon it. It is a most impressive proof, that the Creator
has formed man capable of becoming the creature of all climates and
conditions.If
we may change our temperament both of body and mind for evil, as
innumerable examples prove that we may, why not as easily for good?
Our habits certainly are under our control; and our modes of
thinking, however little the process may have been explained, are,
in
some way, shaped by our voluntary discipline. We have high powers
of
self-command, as every one who has made the effort to exercise
them,
must be conscious. We have inexhaustible moral force for
self-direction, if we will only recognise and exert it. We owe most
of our disgusts and disappointments, our corroding passions and
unreasonable desires, our fretfulness, gloom and self-torment,
neither to nature nor fate; but to ourselves, and our reckless
indifference to those rules, that ought to guide our pursuit of
happiness. Let a higher education and a truer wisdom disenthral us
from our passions, and dispel the mists of opinion and silence the
authority of example. Let us commence the pursuit of happiness on
the
right course, and seek it where alone it is to be found. Equanimity
and moderation will shed their mild radiance upon our enjoyments;
and
in our reverses we shall summon resignation and force of character;
and, according to the sublime ancient maxim, we shall become
masters
of events and of ourselves.I
am sensible that there will always be a sufficient number of those,
deemed philosophers, who, notwithstanding their rules, have
wandered
far from their aim. Such there will always be, so long as there are
stirring passions within or hidden dangers around us; and there
will
be shipwrecks, so long as human cupidity and ambition tempt
self-confident and unskilful mariners upon the fickle and
tumultuous
bosom of the ocean. But is this proof that a disciplined pilot
would
not be most likely to make the voyage in safety, or that the study
of
navigation is useless?My
affectionate desire is, to draw your attention to those moral
resources which your Creator has placed at your command. How many
millions have floated down the current in the indolent supineness
of
inactivity, who, had they been aware of their internal means of
active resistance, would have risen above the pressure of their
circumstances! Who can deny, that there is a manifest difference,
even as things now are, between the moral courage of action and
endurance, put forth by a disciplined and reflecting mind,
possessing
force of character, and the stupid and passive abandonment, with
which a savage meets pain and death?May
you speed on your voyage under the influence of the
lucida sidera, or,
in higher phrase, may Providence be your guide.
LETTER II.THE PHYSICAL, ORGANIC AND MORAL LAWS.
In
relation to this most important subject, read
Combe on the Constitution of Man,
a book, which I consider admirable for its broad, philosophic, and
just views of the laws of the universe, in their bearing upon the
constitution of our physical and moral nature. You are not unaware,
that I had presented you similar views, and inculcated the same
master principles, long before this excellent work was published.
Thousands, in all ages, have entertained the same extended
conceptions of the divine plan, and its bearing upon man and all
beings, upon this and all other worlds. But the honor belongs to
this
author, to have given form and systematic arrangement to these
views.
I have given my thoughts upon this subject at the commencement of
my
letters, and have subjoined remarks upon the Christian religion at
the close, because I deem that M. Droz, in not recurring to these
fundamental principles at the beginning of his work, and in
dwelling
with so little earnestness upon the hope of the gospel, as an
element
of happiness, at the close, has left chasms in it which ought to be
supplied.
The
sect, numerous in my day, in yours, I trust, will have disappeared,
who hold that religion and philosophy are militant and
irreconcilable
principles. Such persons are accustomed to brand these broad views
of
Providence and moral obligation with the odium of impiety. You will
hardly need my assurance, that, if I thought with them,
my right hand should forget its cunning,
before I would allow anything to escape my pen which might have the
least tendency to impair in your minds the future and eternal
sanctions of virtue. I shall hereafter enlarge upon my persuasion,
that, so far from being in opposition, religion and philosophy,
when
rightly understood, will be found resting on the same immutable
foundation. It is because the misguided friends of religion have
attempted to sustain them, as separate and hostile interests, in my
view, that the former has made so little progress towards becoming
universal. It will one day be understood, that whatever wars with
reason and common sense, is equally hostile to religion. The simple
and unchangeable truths of Christianity will be found to violate
none
of our most obvious convictions. Truth will reassume her legitimate
reign. Piety, religion and morals, our best interests for this
life,
and our surest preparations for a future one, will be found exactly
conformable to the eternal order of things, and the system of the
gospel will become universal, according to its legitimate claims.
True piety, in my mind, is equally our duty, our wisdom and
happiness. To behold God everywhere in his works, to hold communion
with him in a contemplative and admiring spirit, to love, and trust
him, to find, in the deep and constantly present persuasion of his
being and attributes, a sentiment of exhaustless cheerfulness and
excitement to duty, I hold to be the source of the purest and
sublimest pleasure, that earth can afford.
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!