“The office of government is not to confer happiness, but to give men opportunity to work out happiness for themselves.”
Review of The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte (1827) by Sir Walter Scott, in the Christian Examiner (September - October 1827)
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William Ellery Channing 71
United States Unitarian clergyman 1780–1842Related quotes

Kaoru Ishikawa, as cited in: Howard S Gitlow (2000), Quality Management Systems: A Practical Guide. p. 3

“Giving is doing exactly the same work as God, thus making Him happy in return.”

The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (1938), XLV Prophecies

1960s, Voting Rights Act signing speech (1965)

In Richmond, Virginia (April 4, 1865), as quoted in Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln http://web.archive.org/web/20130517052731/http://mrlincolnandfreedom.org/inside.asp?ID=84&subjectID=3 (1996), by Don Edward Fehrenbacher and Virginia Fehrenbacher, editor, p. 257
1860s, Tour of Richmond (1865)
Context: In reference to you, colored people, let me say God has made you free. Although you have been deprived of your God-given rights by your so-called masters, you are now as free as I am, and if those that claim to be your superiors do not know that you are free, take the sword and bayonet and teach them that you are; for God created all men free, giving to each the same rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

As quoted in "Xi Jinping meets model workers" http://english.cntv.cn/20130501/102444.shtml in cctv.com English (1 May 2013).
2010s

Essay Fourth, The Principles of the Former Essays Applied to Government
A New View of Society (1813-1816)

“The happiness of society is the end of government.”