#possession

Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind. ↗

— Daphne du Maurier

#mind #possession #prized #quality #state

[I]t is not by being richer or more powerful that a man becomes better; one is a matter of fortune, the other of virtue. Nor should she deem herself other than venal who weds a rich man rather than a poor, and desires more things in her husband than himself. Assuredly, whomsoever this concupiscence leads into marriage deserves payment rather than affection. ↗

— Héloïse d'Argenteuil

#concupiscence #dignity #fortune #greed #honesty

I was surrounded by friends, my work was immense, and pleasures were abundant. Life, now, was unfolding before me, constantly and visibly, like the flowers of summer that drop fanlike petals on eternal soil. Overall, I was happiest to be alone; for it was then I was most aware of what I possessed. Free to look out over the rooftops of the city. Happy to be alone in the company of friends, the company of lovers and strangers. Everything, I decided, in this life, was pure pleasure. ↗

— Roman Payne

#alone #aloneness #company #flowers #friends

Desire then is the invasion of the whole self by the wish, which, as it invades, sets going more and more of the psychical processes; but at the same time, so long as it remains desire, does not succeed in getting possession of the self. ↗

— Samuel Alexander

#does #getting #going #invades #invasion

Nowadays the rage for possession has got to such a pitch that there is nothing in the realm of nature, whether sacred or profane, out of which profit cannot be squeezed. ↗

— Desiderius Erasmus

#got #nature #nothing #nowadays #out

The wavering mind is but a base possession. ↗

— Euripides

#mind #possession #wavering

To paraphrase Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a married man in possession of a vast fortune must be in want of a newer, younger wife. ↗

— Bruce Feirstein

#austen #fortune #jane #jane austen #man

If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. ↗

— Jesus Christ

#go #heaven #perfect #poor #possessions

The United States have no possessions in the east and do not desire to have any, as other countries do. ↗

— Townsend Harris

#countries #desire #east #other #other countries

The real duty of man is not to extend his power or multiply his wealth beyond his needs, but to enrich and enjoy his imperishable possession: his soul. ↗

— Gilbert Highet

#duty #enjoy #enrich #extend #his