Since Ancient Times, some men, fewer women, have chosen to retreat from the public life. They chose the path of solitude, loneliness, isolation from their fellow humans.
It's not very hard to find out why: there is a strong belief that walking away from society, some people manage to find inner peace, to free themselves from a lot of perversions and fears associated with human life, and achieve "something".
This "something" is called Wisdom, Enlightenment, Freedom, Ascension,... you name it.
But I rarely hear it called "Happiness". That one is usually associated rather with some sort of achievement, over a period of time, that can be shared with others. Like being successful at something that you really like.
Personnally, I do feel that you need to be wise in order to be happy. In the sense: you need to be conscious of yourself, and of the reasons why you're happy, in order to be truly happy. Anything less would be an illusion. "Heureux soient les simples d'esprits, car ils ne savent pas qu'ils ne savent rien"; I don't stand by that statement.
On the other hand, if you are wise, does that make you happy? I am not so sure... at least it does not jump to me as something obvious, or as a well-spread idea.
Some weeks ago, a friend sent me this quote, said to come from Sophocles: "Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness".
What do you think?
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