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Meaning
The line reads as a critique of chasing happiness directly. It suggests that happiness often appears as a byproduct of purpose, duty, or seriousness, not as the main goal itself, and it lands when someone is obsessing over feeling good and missing the quieter satisfaction of living well.
When It Was Said
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Who It Was Said To
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Historical Context
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Source
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Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
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Did You Know?
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About George Orwell
English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic
George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic. He is known for writing with clear prose and for work shaped by social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and support for democratic socialism. His writing is marked by direct language and a strong political conscience. Across his novels, essays, and journalism, he returns to questions of power, public life, and freedom, and he is closely associated with criticism of totalitarian rule and with democratic socialist ideas.
More from George Orwell (321 quotes) →Other sayings from George Orwell
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Explore Happiness
- “All human happiness revolves around love. Love is central to the bonds on which a family is built.”Margaret Way
- “When I started dating again, the best thing about it was that I'd got to a place in my life where I felt happ…”Coleen Nolan
- “My happy place is holding my daughter and my husband in the same hug. It really is. I'm getting emotional jus…”Lake Bell
READ THE SOURCE
Books by George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty-Four
The source of many political quotes.
Animal Farm
A short political fable.