“We never taste a perfect joy; Our happiest successes are mixed with sadness.”

— Pierre Corneille, Le Cid (1636), act III, scene v

About Pierre Corneille

1606 – 1684

French dramatist, one of the three great tragedians of 17th-century France, author of 'Le Cid'.

“One often calms one's grief by recounting it.”

“Reason and love are sworn enemies.”

“As great as kings may be, they are what we are: they can err like other men.”

“For God made all mankind to be happy, to be serene.”

“Love the little trade which thou hast learned, and be content therewith.”

“Why does this magnificent applied science which saves work and makes life easier bring us so little happiness?”

“A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.”

“What is happiness? The feeling that power increases—that a resistance is overcome.”

“Only it takes time to be happy. A lot of time. Happiness, too, is a long patience.”