“To me personally, the only function of philosophy is to teach us to take life more lightly and gayly than the average businessman does, for no businessman who does not retire at fifty, if he can, is in my eyes a philosopher.”

— Lin Yutang, book The Importance of Living

Source: The Importance of Living (1937), Ch. I : The Awakening, p. 13

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Lin Yutang67

Chinese writer 1895–1976

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“To me personally, the only function of philosophy is to teach us to take life more lightly and gayly than the average businessman does, for no businessman who does not retire at fifty, if he can, is in my eyes a philosopher.”

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