Contentment

Had they the world, the world would not content them.
~ Sir William Alexander, Earl of Stirling, The Tragedie of Darius (1603).

Content as an infant smiling through its dreams.
~ William Allingham, from Lawrence Bloomfield in Ireland (1864). Chapter V: Ballytullagh

Grant us to know, ye Mystic Powers!
Our happy hours before they go.
~ William Allingham, from Blackberries Picked Off Many Bushes (1884).

Oh, bring again my heart's content,
Thou Spirit of the Summer-time!
~ William Allingham, from Songs Ballads and Stories (1877). Day and Night Songs. Song

Masters have wrought in prisons,
At peace in cells of stone;
From their thick walls I fashion
Windows to light my own.
~ Karle Wilson Baker, from Burning Bush (1922). Prisons

I am told by all who know me that my personal appearance greatly improved, and that I seem to bear the stamp of good health; this may be a matter of opinion or friendly remark, but I can honestly assert that I feel restored in health, "bodily and mentally," appear to have more muscular power and vigour, eat and drink with a good appetite, and sleep well.
~ William Banting, Letter On Corpulence, Addressed to the Public. Fourth Edition (1869).

Who says that men have fallen,
That life is wretched and rough?
I say, the world is lovely,
And that loveliness is enough.
~ Robert Williams Buchanan, in London Poems (1866). Artist and Model

I get satisfaction of three kinds. One is creating something, one is being paid for it and one is the feeling that I haven't just been sitting on my ass all afternoon.
~ William F. Buckley, Jr.

Content is center'd in the mind.
~ William Burdon, from Poems for Children (1805). Self-taught Philosophy

It is not being out at heels that makes a man discontented; it is being out at heart. To be contented is to be good friends with yourself.
~ (William) Bliss Carman, The Friendship of Art (1904). Of Contentment

Sweet as the sundown, austere as the dawn.
~ (William) Bliss Carman, from Last Songs from Vagabondia (1900). Berris Yare

When we have but few comforts we enjoy them the more.
~ William Benton (W.B.) Clulow, Horæ otiosæ; or, Thoughts, Maxims, and Opinions (1833). Part IV. On Happiness

A full belly to the labourer was, in my opinion, the foundation of public morals and the only source of real public peace.
~ William Cobbett, in The Autobiography of William Cobbett: The Progress of a Plough-boy to a Seat in Parliament (1933).

But tonight, the lion of contentment
has placed a warm, heavy paw on my chest,
And I can only close my eyes and listen
to the drums of woe throbbing in the distance.
~ Billy Collins, The Art of Drowning (1995). Osso Buco

Few men by their death can have given such deep satisfaction to so many.
~ Sir William Connor (Cassandra), The Daily Mirror (1953). Farewell to Joseph Stalin

He that holds fast the golden mean,
And lives contently between
The little and the great,
Feels not the wants that pinch the poor,
Nor plagues that haunt the rich man's door.
~ William Cowper, Translation of Horace, Book II, Ode X, To Licinius

To thee for help I call;
I stand upon a mountain's edge,
Oh save me, lest I fall!
~ William Cowper, from Olney Hymns (1779). Book III: On the Rise, Progress, Changes, and Comforts of the Spiritual Life. Lively Hope, and Gracious Fear

Whoe'er was edified, themselves were not!
~ William Cowper, The Task (1785). Book II. The Time-Piece

I'm comfortable being old ... being black ... being Jewish.
~ Billy Crystal

[I]n a dearth of comforts, we are taught
To be contented with the least.
~ Sir William Davenant, The Fair Favourite (1638).

From my own kind I only learn
How foolish comfort is.
~ William Henry (W.H.) Davies, The Song of Life and Other Poems (1920). Comfort

What sweet contentments doth the soul enjoy by the senses!
~ William Drummond (of Hawthornden), from Flowers of Zion; or Spiritual Poems (1623). A Cypress Grove

Take life as it comes!
~ William Schwenck (W.S.) Gilbert, The Gondoliers (1889 opera). Act I

Observe any person in the thing wherein he takes high content, and he is more careful and curious about that than any other.
~ William Gurnall, The Christian In Complete Armour (1665).

Comfort -- 'tis for ease and quiet;
It sleeps upon the down of sweet content,
In the sound bed of industry and health.
~ William Havard, Regulus, a Tragedy (1744). Act V, scene vi

Let a man's talents or virtues be what they may, we only feel satisfaction in his society, as he is satisfied in himself.
~ William Hazlitt, Characteristics: in the Manner of Rochefoucault's Maxims (1823).

The same reason makes a man a religious enthusiast that makes him an enthusiast in any other way, an uncomfortable mind in an uncomfortable body.
~ William Hazlitt, from The Round Table, Vol. I (1817). On the Causes of Methodism

There is a softness and a harmony in the words and in the thought unparalleled. Of all conceits it is surely the most classical. "I count only the hours that are serene."
~ William Hazlitt, On a Sun-Dial (1827).

We are never so much disposed to quarrel with others as when we are dissatisfied with ourselves.
~ William Hazlitt, Characteristics: in the Manner of Rochefoucault's Maxims (1823).

We are not satisfied to be right, unless we can prove others to be quite wrong.
~ William Hazlitt, from Conversations of James Northcote (1830).

Safe, fearless, joyful, free.
~ William H. Henderson, in The Sailors' Magazine And Seamen's Friend (October 1889). No More Sea (1880).

A great content's in all things,
And life is not in vain.
~ William Ernest (W.E.) Henley, from A Book of Verses (1888). Life and Death (Echoes). XXIII (1877)

And from the west,
Where the sun, his day's work ended,
Lingers as in content,
There falls on the old, grey city
An influence luminous and serene,
A shining peace.
~ William Ernest (W.E.) Henley, from A Book of Verses (1888). Life and Death (Echoes). XXXIV: Margaritæ Sorori. I.M. (1876)

I felt purified and had a strange sense and apprehension of a secret innocence and spirituality in nature -- a prescience of some bourn, incalculably distant perhaps, to which we are all moving; of a time when the heavenly rain shall have washed us clean from all spot and blemish.
~ William Henry ("W.H.") Hudson, Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest (1904).

All the things which surround us contain in themselves matter for contemplation, for enjoyment, and for delight, both for the mind and feelings.
~ Wilhelm von Humboldt, in Thoughts and Opinions of a Statesman (1849). Letter XIII

A paradise of inward tranquility seems to be faith's usual result.
~ William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902). Lectures XI, XII, and XIII: Saintliness

I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact. ... It seems to me I've got all I want.
~ William Wymark ("W.W.") Jacobs, from The Lady of the Barge, and Other Stories (1902). The Monkey's Paw

I've only felt content a few times in my life, and it never lasted. I'm very discontented right now. There are situations in my life that didn't pan out. I'm like most other human beings. I try and I fail.
~ Billy Joel, The New York Times Magazine (15 September 2002). The Stranger

Calmness comes ever from within. It is the peace and restfulness of the depths of our nature. The fury of storm and of wind agitate only the surface of the sea; they can penetrate only two or three hundred feet, -- below that is the calm, unruffled deep. To be ready for the great crises of life we must learn serenity in our daily living. Calmness is the crown of self-control.
~ William George Jordan, The Majesty of Calmness (1900). I: The Majesty of Calmness

There are times when a man should be content with what he has, but never with what he is.
~ William George Jordan, The Majesty of Calmness (1900). VII: The Royal Road to Happiness

There should be calmness. Hold fast. Go slow.
~ William Quan Judge (reported last words on 21 March 1896), quoted in Sunrise magazine (April/May 1996).

Gentle as truth.
~ William James Linton, Claribel and Other Poems (1865). To His Love

With the civilized man contentment is a myth. From the cradle to the grave he is forever longing and striving after something better, an indefinable something, some new object yet unattained.
~ William Mathews, from The Great Conversers, And Other Essays (1874). IV. Popular Fallacies

I do not confer praise or blame: I accept. I am the measure of all things. I am the centre of the world.
~ W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage (1915).

[O]ne cannot find peace in work or in pleasure, in the world or in a convent, but only in one's soul.
~ W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil (1925).

I'm a sensitive guy. I don't want to be brought down, so I just leave it at that. As long as there's good and bad, it evens itself out.
~ Billy Mays, The Seattle Times (25 December 2002). Pitchman Billy Mays gives Orange its Glo

Be willing to be uncomfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It may get tough, but it's a small price to pay for living your Dream.
~ Peter McWilliams, DO IT! Let's Get Off Our Buts (1994). Part Five: Doing It

It is difficult to give children a sense of security unless you have it yourself. If you have it, they catch it from you.
~ Dr. William C. Menninger, How To Help Your Children: The Parents' Handbook (1959).

The amount of satisfaction you get from life depends largely on your own ingenuity, self-sufficiency, and resourcefulness.
~ Dr. William C. Menninger, Self-Understanding, A First Step To Understanding Children (1951).

I would be satisfied with more money and less prospects.
~ Wilson Mizner

A good way to rid one's self of a sense of discomfort is to do something. That uneasy, dissatisfied feeling is actual force vibrating out of order; it may be turned to practical account by giving proper expression to its creative character.
~ William Morris

Contentment preserves one even from catching cold. Has a woman who knew that she was well-dressed ever caught cold? -- No, not even when she had scarcely a rag to her back.
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, The Twilight of the Idols (1888). Maxims and Missiles

Discontent is the seed of ethics.
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

To make the individual uncomfortable, that is my task.
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

I am content to live quietly and enjoy good health rather than wear good clothes and feel rocky all the time.
~ (Edgar Wilson) "Bill" Nye, Bill Nye's Thinks (1888). In The Park

Success ... should only be measured by the content it brings with it.
~ (Edgar Wilson) "Bill" Nye, Bill Nye's Chestnuts Old and New: Latest Gatherings (1888).

A state of ease is, generally speaking, more attainable than a state of pleasure.
~ William Paley, Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity (1802). Chapter XXVI: The Goodness of the Deity

A world, furnished with advantages on one side, and beset with difficulties, wants, and inconveniences on the other, is the proper abode of free, rational, and active natures, being the fittest to stimulate and exercise their faculties.
~ William Paley, Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity (1802). Chapter XXVI: The Goodness of the Deity

The great principle of human satisfaction is engagement.
~ William Paley, Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity (1802). Chapter XXVI: The Goodness of the Deity

A little hour of peace, a little sun!
~ William Alexander Percy, from In April Once (1920). Part II. Lyrical Pieces. The Wanderer

Man's destiny is to be, not dissatisfied, but forever unsatisfied.
~ Frederick William (F.W.) Robertson

I really have a secret satisfaction in being considered rather mad.
~ William (W.) Heath Robinson, in William Heath Robinson (1992).

Security is an attempt to try to make the universe static so that we feel safe.
~ Anne Wilson Schaef, Native Wisdom for White Minds (1995).

Contentment is the best food to preserve a sound man, and the best medicine to restore a sick man.
~ William Secker, from The Nonsuch Professor in His Meridian Splendor, or the Singular Actions of Sanctified Christians (1660).

Contentment will make a cottage look as fair as a palace.
~ William Secker, from The Nonsuch Professor in His Meridian Splendor, or the Singular Actions of Sanctified Christians (1660).

Outward prosperity cannot create inward tranquillity.
~ William Secker, from The Nonsuch Professor in His Meridian Splendor, or the Singular Actions of Sanctified Christians (1660).

A cosy cottage in the sun,
A pleasant page to read --
You'll find when all is said and done,
That's nearly all you need.
~ Robert William Service, from Rhymes of a Roughneck (1950). The Summing Up

For I have found it wise in life
To take the luck the way it's coming;
A wake, a worry or a wife --
Just carry on and keep a-humming ...
~ Robert William Service, from Rhymes of a Roughneck (1950). Contentment

But since all is well, keep it so: wake not a sleeping wolf.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part II. Act I, scene ii

Comfort's in heaven; and we are on the earth,
Where nothing lives but crosses, cares and grief.
~ William Shakespeare, King Richard II. Act II, scene ii

Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least.
~ William Shakespeare, Sonnet 29

For mine own part,
I could be well content
To entertain the lag-end of my life
With quiet hours.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part I

He is well paid that is well satisfied.
~ William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice. Act IV, scene i

Here lurks no treason, here no envy swells,
Here grow no damned drugs, here are no storms,
No noise, but silence and eternal sleep:
In peace and honour rest you here, my sons!
~ William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus. Act I, scene i

I know a discontented gentleman,
Whose humble means match not his haughty mind.
~ William Shakespeare, King Richard III. Act IV, scene ii

I see your brows are full of discontent,
Your hearts of sorrow and your eyes of tears.
~ William Shakespeare, King Richard II. Act IV, scene i

I swear 'tis better to be lowly born,
And range with humble livers in content,
Than to be perked up in a glistering grief,
And wear a golden sorrow.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry VIII. Act II, scene iii

My crown is called content:
A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry VI, Part III. Act III, scene i

Now is the winter of our discontent.
Made glorious summer by this sun of York.
~ William Shakespeare, King Richard III. Act I, scene i

Thou art the Mars of malcontents.
~ William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor. Act I, scene iii

The eye must be easy, before it can be pleased.
~ William Shenstone, in Works in Verse and Prose, Vol. II (1764). Essays on Men, Manners, and Things. Unconnected Thoughts on Gardening

The earth says have a place, be what that place
requires; hear the sound the birds imply
and see as deep as ridges go behind
each other.
~ William Stafford, from Traveling through the Dark (1962). Part One: In Medias Res. In Response to a Question

We think it is calm here,
or that our storm is the right size.
~ William Stafford, in Learning to Live in the World: Earth Poems by William Stafford (1994). Keepsakes

Only when taking it easy ... could one do one's wondering.
~ William Steig, Abel's Island (1976).

Ah! Vanitas Vanitatum! which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?
~ William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero (1848). Chapter LXVII. Which Contains Births, Marriages, and Deaths

Away from the world and its toils and its cares,
I've a snug little kingdom up four pair of stairs.
~ William Makepeace Thackeray, The Cane-Bottom'd Chair. Stanza 1

Everybody in Vanity Fair must have remarked how well those live who are comfortably and thoroughly in debt; how they deny themselves nothing; how jolly and easy they are in their minds.
~ William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero (1848). Chapter XXII. A Marriage and Part of a Honeymoon

Contentment with earthly goods is the mark of a saint; contentment with our spiritual state is a mark of inward blindness.
~ Aiden Wilson (A.W.) Tozer, The Root of the Righteous (1955). Chapter 15: Our Enemy Contentment

Be not content with the commonplace in character any more than with the commonplace in ambition or intellectual attainment. Do not expect that you will make any lasting or very strong impression on the world through intellectual power without the use of an equal amount of conscience and heart.
~ William Jewett Tucker

Restlessness and excitement betray weakness; tranquillity is a quality that belongs to solid virtue.
~ W. (William) Bernard Ullathorne, The Groundwork of the Christian Virtues (1882). Lecture II. On the Nature of Christian Virtue

I don't get excited, I get satisfaction.
~ Brigadier General (ret.) Wilma L. Vaught (on celebrating the Women in Military Service for America Memorial), The Washington Post (17 October 1997). A Snappy Salute to a General

Rest we content if whispers from the stars.
~ William Watson, from Epigrams of Art, Life and Nature (1884). LXVIII

And, from the discontent of man
The world's best progress springs.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox, from Poems of Power (1901). Discontent

For one rich moment, opulent indeed,
I walked with Krishna, Buddha, and the Christ,
And felt the full serenity of God.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox, in Picked Poems (1912). On Seeing the Daibutsu -- At Kamakura, Japan (1912)

From the hills of Doubt no winds are blowing,
From the isles of Pain no breeze is sent, --
Only the sun in a white heat glowing
Over an ocean of great content.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox, from Maurine and Other Poems (1888). Midsummer

Nothing contents us long, however dear.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox, from Poems of Passion (1883). Miscellanious Poems. The Year Outgrows The Spring

From our earliest lessons that not everything is within our control, to this very moment, most of us are in a neverending battle with our own discomfort.
~ Angel Kyodo Williams, Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living With Fearlessness and Grace (2000).

For me, contented with an humble state,
'Twas ne'er my care, or fortune, to be great.
~ Anna Williams, Miscellanies in Prose and Verse (1766). The Happy Solitude, Or The Wished Retirement

All cannot be leaders, and the conviction that work well done, no matter how unimportant it may seem to the worker, is a sound reason for self-satisfaction.
~ George Gilbert Williams, in Modern Achievement, II. Business and Professional Life (1902). Business, Trade, and Industries. The Bank Clerk

Participating in the energy flow is the only satisfaction there is in life.
~ Paul Williams, Das Energi (1973).

One of the biggest things I've done is learn how to love myself, flaws and all. Even the things I don't like about myself, I accept. People have made fun of me and made me self-conscious about talking so softly, for example, but I accept that as who I am and I'm not changing it for anybody. I'm at peace with who I am now, and once you've achieved that, all the other stuff disappears.
~ Ricky Williams, ESPN The Magazine (16 September 2002). Redemption Song

There is a certain sense of snugness in absolute insignificance.
~ Sarah Williams, in Twilight Hours, A Legacy of Verse (1868). Memoir

I can't become satisfied, because if I get satisfied, I'll be like, "Oh, I've won Wimbledon, I've won the U.S. Open. Now can I relax." But now people are really going to be fighting to beat me.
~ Serena Williams, The Associated Press (27 December 2002). Serena Named AP Female Athlete of Year

Security is a kind of death.
~ Thomas Lanier ("Tennessee") Williams, in The New York Times (30 November 1947). A Streetcar Named Success

Fill your mind with the meaningless stimuli of a world preoccupied with meaningless things, and it will not be easy to feel peace in your heart.
~ Marianne Williamson, Illuminata: Thoughts, Prayers, Rites of Passage (1994). Part I: Thoughts. 3: Mystical Power

Content dwells with him, for his mind is fed,
And Temperance has driven out unrest.
~ Nathaniel Parker (N.P.) Willis, from Poem delivered before the Society of United Brothers at Brown University, with Other Poems (1831). Poem

A man must have some inner satisfaction
whose gold is not the measure of the world.
~ Gill Robb Wilson, from The Airman's World (1957). Patterns

And is not this the state of best happiness for mortal man? Tranquility!
~ John Wilson, from The Recreations of Christopher North (1845 edition). The Moors. Prologue

Leave it to others to be perfect, to be wonderful. Be content with what you are.
~ Paul Wilson, The Little Book of Calm (1996).

The fewer desires, the more peace.
~ (Bishop) Thomas Wilson, in Maxims of Piety and of Christianity (first published in 1781).

I love my dinner, but did not complain
When I had none, which sometimes was the case;
For even that may be a means of grace.
~ William Winter, from My Witness; a Book of Verse (1871). Spray: -- XIV. A Creed

While our hearts are pure,
Our lives are happy and our peace is sure.
~ William Winter, The Emotion of Sympathy (1856).

Dust as we are, the immortal spirit grows
Like harmony in music; there is a dark
Inscrutable workmanship that reconciles
Discordant elements, makes them cling together
In one society.
~ William Wordsworth, The Prelude (1850 edition). Book I: Introduction -- Childhood and School-time

Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will.
~ William Wordsworth, Lines Composed upon Westminster Bridge (Sept. 3, 1802).

No fears to beat away, no strife to heal, --
The past unsighed for, and the future sure.
~ William Wordsworth, Laodamia (1814).

Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room;
And hermits are contented with their cells.
~ William Wordsworth, from Miscellaneous Sonnets, Part I (1827). I. Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room (1807)

Soft is the music that would charm for ever;
The flower of sweetest smell is shy and lowly.
~ William Wordsworth, from Miscellaneous Sonnets, Part II (1827). II. Not Love, not War, nor the Tumultuous Swell (1823)

It is a very common feeling in us never to be satisfied with our fortunes, and never dissatisfied with our sense and conduct.
~ William Wycherley, in The Posthumous Works of William Wycherley, Esq. in Prose and Verse (1728). Maxims and Reflections

I am content to live it all again
And yet again, if it be life to pitch
Into the frog-spawn of a blind man's ditch,
A blind man battering blind men.
~ William Butler Yeats, from The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1933). A Dialogue of Self and Soul

I call on those that call me son,
Grandson, or great-grandson,
On uncles, aunts, great-uncles or great-aunts,
To judge what I have done.
Have I, that put it into words,
Spoilt what old loins have sent?
~ William Butler Yeats, from New Poems (1938). Are You Content?