"There is a set of religious, or rather moral, writings which teach that virtue is the certain road to happiness, and vice to misery in this world. A very wholesome and comfortable doctrine, and to which we have but one objection, namely, that it is not true"
- Francois Fenelon
About this Quote
This quote by Francois Fenelon speaks with the idea of spiritual or ethical writings that teach that virtue causes joy and vice to torment in this world. Fenelon seems recommending that this is a really soothing and wholesome doctrine, however, he has one objection to it - that it is not real. This quote talks to the idea that although it is comforting to believe that good deeds will be rewarded and bad deeds will be punished, this is not constantly the case. It suggests that life is not always reasonable and that in some cases, no matter how virtuous one is, they might still suffer. This quote is a suggestion that although it is important to strive for virtue, life is unpredictable and often, no matter how hard we attempt, we might still experience misfortune.
"The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily. This is the man of moderation, the man of manly character and of wisdom"
