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“He that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.”
Happiness is linked with mercy toward people in need, shifting the focus from private possession toward useful generosity.
Source note: Proverbs 14:21 in the King James Version; concluding clause of the verse.
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“Do not find your happiness in another’s sorrow.”
A person’s good fortune is morally diminished when it depends on enjoying somebody else’s pain or humiliation.
Source note: The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, saying 18, D. Lyman Jr. translation (1856).
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“There is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.”
Enjoyment and doing good are placed together, suggesting that a good life contains both received joy and useful action.
Source note: Ecclesiastes 3:12 in the King James Version.
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“I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.”
Joy and doing good are placed together as practical goods available within a life whose timing cannot be fully controlled.
Source note: Ecclesiastes 3:12 in the King James Version.
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“Serve the LORD with gladness.”
Service and gladness are joined, making joy part of how useful work is carried out rather than something reserved for leisure.
Source note: Psalm 100:2 in the King James Version; opening clause.
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“The memory of a good deed lives.”
A worthwhile action can leave a durable impression after the action itself has passed, much as fragrance remains in an emptied vessel.
Source note: Moral printed after “The Old Woman and the Wine-Jar” in the Townsend translation.