We don't laugh because we're happy - we're happy because we laugh.
William James quote We can act as if there were a God; feel as if we were free; consider Nature as if she were full of special designs; lay plans as if we were to be immortal; and we find then that these words do make a genuine difference in our moral life.
William James quote We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.
William James quote Whatever universe a professor believes in must at any rate be a universe that lends itself to lengthy discourse. A universe definable in two sentences is something for which the professorial intellect has no use. No faith in anything of that cheap kind!
William James quote Where quality is the thing sought after, the thing of supreme quality is cheap, whatever the price one has to pay for it.
William James quote Why should we think upon things that are lovely? Because thinking determines life. It is a common habit to blame life upon the environment. Environment modifies life but does not govern life. The soul is stronger than its surroundings.
William James quote Do every day or two something for no other reason than you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test.
William James quote Wisdom is learning what to overlook.
William James quote Biography
1842-1910, philosopher
