O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams.
—Augustine of Hippo (354–430) Roman-African Christian Philosopher
Health is the condition of wisdom, and the sign is cheerfulness—an open and noble temper.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
To make knowledge valuable, you must have the cheerfulness of wisdom. Goodness smiles to the last.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
I have always preferred cheerfulness to mirth. The former is an act, the latter a habit of the mind. Mirth is short and transient; cheerfulness, fixed and permanent. Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment. Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, filling it with a steady and perpetual serenity.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
The truest greatness lies in being kind, the truest wisdom in a happy mind.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American Poet, Journalist
An ounce of cheerfulness is worth a pound of sadness to serve God with.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
God is glorified, not by our groans but by our thanksgivings; and all good thought and good action claim a natural alliance with good cheer.
—Edwin Percy Whipple (1819–86) American Literary Critic
Thus the sovereign voluntary path to cheerfulness, if cheerfulness be lost, is to sit up cheerfully and to act and speak as if cheerfulness were already there.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
Burdens become light when cheerfully borne.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
Every time a man smiles, and much more when he laughs, it adds something to his fragment of life.
—Laurence Sterne (1713–68) Irish Anglican Novelist, Clergyman
Cheerfulness is as natural to the heart of a man in strong health, as color to his cheek; and wherever there is habitual gloom, there must be either bad air, unwholesome food, improperly severe labor, or erring habits of life.
—John Ruskin (1819–1900) English Writer, Art Critic
Cheerfulness and contentment are great beautifiers and are famous preservers of youthful looks.
—Charles Dickens (1812–70) English Novelist
Cheerful company shortens the journey.
—German Proverb
A cheerful face is nearly as good for an invalid as healthy weather.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
A cheerful temper, joined with innocence, will make beauty attractive, knowledge delightful, and wit good-natured. It will lighten sickness, poverty, and affliction; convert ignorance into an amiable simplicity, and render deformity itself agreeable.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
The mind that is cheerful at present will have no solicitude for the future, and will meet the bitter occurrences of life with a smile.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
A good laugh is sunshine in a house.
—William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–63) English Novelist
A man of gladness seldom falls into madness.
—Unknown
Oh, give us the man who sings at his work.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
The most manifest sign of wisdom is continued cheerfulness; her estate is like that of the things in the regions above the moon, always clear and serene.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
To watch the corn grow, or the blossoms set; to draw hard breath over the plough or spade; to read, to think, to love, to pray, are the things that make men happy.
—John Ruskin (1819–1900) English Writer, Art Critic
Honest good humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting, and there is no jovial companionship equal to that where the jokes are rather small and the laughter abundant.
—Washington Irving (1783–1859) American Essayist, Biographer, Historian
It is not fitting, when one is in God’s service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look.
—Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) Italian Monk, Founder of the Franciscan Order
People are always good company when they are doing what they really enjoy.
—Samuel Butler
Cheerfulness removes the rust from the mind, lubricates our inward machinery, and enables us to do our work with fewer creaks and ;groans. If people were universally cheerful, probably there wouldn’t be half the quarreling or a tenth part of the wickedness
—Unknown
Cheerful looks make every dish a feast; and it is that which crowns a welcome.
—Philip Massinger (1583–1640) English Playwright
I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.
—Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British Head of State
I had rather have a fool make me merry, than experience make me sad.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
To be free-minded and cheerfully disposed at hours of meals, and of sleep, and of exercise, is one of the best precepts of long-lasting.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher