“We are in danger of forgetting that God is not only a comfort but a joy. He is the source of all pleasures; he is fun and laughter, and we are meant to enjoy him.”
Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the Ten Commandment
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Joy Davidman1
American poet 1915–1960Related quotes
Denis Diderot book Philosophical thoughts
As translated in Diderot (1977) by Otis Fellows, p. 39
Variant translations:
One declaims endlessly against the passions; one imputes all of man's suffering to them. One forgets that they are also the source of all his pleasures.
Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.
Pensées Philosophiques (1746)
Source: Pensées philosophiques
Context: We are constantly railing against the passions; we ascribe to them all of man’s afflictions, and we forget that they are also the source of all his pleasures … But what provokes me is that only their adverse side is considered … and yet only passions, and great passions, can raise the soul to great things. Without them there is no sublimity, either in morals or in creativity. Art returns to infancy, and virtue becomes small-minded.
“In all of living have much of fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”
Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Stand True and Faithful, Ensign, May 1996, 91.
François Fénelon (1651–1715) Catholic bishop
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 542.
Immanuel Jakobovits (1921–1999) British rabbi
Source: The Authorised Daily Prayer Book, Centenary Edition 1990, p. 12.
Julian of Norwich book Revelations of Divine Love
The Sixteenth Revelation, Chapter 68
Source: Revelations of Divine Love
Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724–1803) German poet, writer and linguist
The Messiah, VII. 460; as quoted in Beautiful thoughts from German and Spanish authors (1868) by C.T. Ramage, p. 240
Babe Ruth (1895–1948) American baseball player
In The Babe Ruth Story (1948) by Ruth, with Bob Considine, pp. 123-124
Frederick William Robertson (1816–1853) British writer and theologian
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 477.