In the following year, 1930, I published The Conquest of Happiness,... This book was differently estimated by readers of three different levels. ... I do not know which estimate was right; what I do know is that the book was written at a time when I needed much self-command and much that I had learned by painful experience if I was to maintain any endurable level of happiness.
Source: The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, v.2, chap.3: China
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As previously announced, today marks the final post of Bertrand Russell Quotes 366. From now on, it will be replaced by Bertrand Russell Quotes - Occasional Edition, which will appear from time to time rather than on a daily basis. ( https://russell-j.com/br_oriori-j0001.html : Please wait a moment before it begins.)
As I have grown older, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain the same quality while posting every day, and for the sake of my health, I have decided to reduce the frequency. Thank you very much for following along for so long.
Today's post is a quotation from Russell's The Conquest of Happiness (literally , a title which conveys the idea that happiness is not something to be passively awaited, like a windfall, but something to be actively won through effort.
Russell himself wrote the following (The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, Vol. 2, Chapter 6):
"What I do know is that the book was written at a time when I needed much self-command and much that I had learned by painful experience if I was to maintain any endurable level of happiness."
At that time, Russell was deeply affected by his relationship with his second wife, Dora. One factor behind this was that she had children by another man, and under English law at the time, such children were legally regarded as the husband's unless the couple had divorced.
Published nearly a hundred years ago, The Conquest of Happiness continues to be read worldwide. In Japan, seven different translations have appeared so far, with the most recent Iwanami Bunko edition (translated by Sadao Ando) having gone through more than forty-five printings. I hope you will read Professor Ando's translation as well, together with my own translations and comments.
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