“Those two, in paradise, were given a choice: happiness without freedom, or freedom without happiness. There was no third alternative.”
R-13
We (1921)
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Yevgeny Zamyatin 34
Russian author 1884–1937Related quotes

Source: No Way Out (2002), Ch. 2: Nothing To Be Transformed
Context: Whether you are interested in moksha, liberation, freedom, transformation, you name it, you are interested in happiness without one moment of unhappiness, pleasure without pain, it is the same thing. Whether one is here in India or Russia or in America or anywhere, what people want is to have one without the other. But there is no way you can have one without the other. This demand is not in the interest of the survival of this living organism.

“The secret of happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom is courage.”
Book II, 2.43
History of the Peloponnesian War, Book II

The Faith of Puppets: The Freedom of the Marionette (p. 6-7)
The Soul of the Marionette: A Short Enquiry into Human Freedom (2015)

“There may be Peace without Joy, and Joy without Peace, but the two combined make Happiness.”
Pilgrim's Way (1940), p. 117
Memory Hold-The-Door (1940)
“At any given moment the choice to be happy is present — we just have to choose to be happy.”
Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 19