Happiness is neither poverty nor riches

Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, "Who is the LORD?" or lest I be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God.

-- Proverbs 30:8f.

Happiness is contentment

'Tis better to be lowly born,

And range with humble livers in content,

Than to be perk'd up in a glist'ring grief,

And wear a golden sorrow.

 

-- William Shakespeare, Henry VIII

Happiness is being content with one's share in the blessings common to all

 

Every creature has a share in the common blessings of providence; And every creature should rest well satisfied with its proportion in them.

-- Roger L'Estrange

Happiness is the product of just one field

 

 

Give me, ye gods, the product of one field,

That so I neither may be rich nor poor;

And having just enough, not covet more.

-- John Dryden

Happiness is in nothing too little and nothing too much

 

 

Avoid extremes, and shun the faults of such

Who still are pleas'd too little, or too much.

-- Alexander Pope

John Denham on happiness

 

 

 

 Oh! happiness of sweet retir'd content,

To be at once secure and innocent.

-- John Denham (1615-1669)

The Greeks taught us "nothing too much": Especially true when ingesting Scoville units

"British chef went temporarily DEAF after eating the world's hottest noodles" says the headline at the UK Mirror.

"Ben Sumadiwiria, 22, from London, scoffed a dish with 100 bird's eye chilis crushed together, giving it a Scoville rating of 20 million".

A single Jalapeno pepper ranges from 1,000 to 20,000 Scoville units compared with the bird's eye chili at 200,000.