I had much rather be adorned by beauty of character than by jewels. Jewels are the gift of fortune, character comes from within.
PlautusRead
I seek the utmost pleasure and the least pain.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the pursuit of joy while avoiding suffering.
This quote by Plautus reflects a fundamental human desire to attain maximum happiness while minimizing distress in life. It speaks to the inherent motivation to seek out pleasurable experiences and to create a life that is fulfilling by reducing negative emotions and pain.
Themes
PleasurePainHappinessLifeDesire
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about pursuing happiness, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of seeking joy.
More from Plautus
All quotes βProperty is unstable, and youth perishes in a moment. Life itself is held in the grinning fangs of Death, Yet men delay to obtain release from the world. Alas, the conduct of mankind is surprising.
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Things we do not expect, happen more frequently than we wish.
PlautusRead
The gods confound the man who first found out How to distinguish hours! Confound him, too, Who in this place set up a sun-dial, To cut and hack my days so wretchedly Into small portions.
PlautusRead
I would rather be adorned by beauty of character than jewels. Jewels are the gift of fortune, while character comes from within.
PlautusRead
If I can only keep my good name, I shall have riches enough.
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Similar quotes
A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.
Jane AustenRead
She decides to make a list of the things that make her happy. She writes 'plum-blossom' at the top of a piece of paper. Then she stares at the paper, unable to think of anything else. Eventually it begins to get dark.
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Sometimes when you're young, you have moments of such happiness, you think you're living on someplace magical, like Atlantis must have been. Then we grow up and our hearts break into two.
Stephen KingRead
It is safe to be me. I love life. I am always safe and secure. I move forward in life with joy and ease. All is well in my world.
Louise HayRead
Man is unhappy because he doesn't know he's happy. If anyone finds out he'll become happy at once.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Universal happiness keeps the wheels steadily turning, truth and beauty can't.
Aldous HuxleyRead