A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
Thomas PaineRead
It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself.
Interpretation
Personal happiness requires mental integrity and honesty with oneself.
In this quote, Thomas Paine emphasizes the importance of being true to one's own beliefs and thoughts as a foundation for achieving genuine happiness. Mental fidelity to oneself involves an unwavering commitment to one's values, principles, and internal truths, suggesting that only by aligning one's outer life with inner convictions can true happiness be attained.
In practice
During a motivational speech about personal growth, one might reference this quote.
A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
That God cannot lie, is no advantage to your argument, because it is no proof that priests can not, or that the Bible does not.
I consider the war of America against Britain as the country's war, the public's war, or the war of the people in their own behalf, for the security of their natural rights, and the protection of their own property.
Had the news of salvation by Jesus Christ been inscribed on the face of the sun and the moon, in characters that all nations would have understood, the whole earth had known it in twenty-four hours, and all nations would have believed it; whereas, though it is now almost two thousand years since, as they tell us, Christ came upon earth, not a twentieth part of the people of the earth know anything of it, and among those who do, the wiser part do not believe it.
The end of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man; and these rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance of oppression.
To reason with goverments, as they have existed for ages, is to argue with brutes. It is only from the nations themselves that reforms can be expected
True happiness involves the full use of one's power and talents.
Act as if you were already happy and that will tend to make you happy.
Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.
Let men be happy, informed, skillful, well behaved, and productive.
If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.
The first and indispensable requisite of happiness is a clear conscience.
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