The desire for high status is never stronger than in situations where "ordinary" life fails to answer a median need for dignity and comfort.

It seems, in fact, that the more advanced a society is, the greater will be its interest in ruined things, for it will see in them a redemptively sobering reminder of the fragility of its own achievements. Ruins pose a direct challenge to our concern with power and rank, with bustle and fame. They puncture the inflated folly of our exhaustive and frenetic pursuit of wealth.

Dreams reveal we never quite get 'over' anything: it's all still in there somewhere.

Happiness is impossible for longer than 15 minutes. We are the descendants of creatures who, above all else, worried.

One of our major flaws, and causes of unhappiness, is that we find it hard to take note of appreciate and be grateful for what is always around us. We suffer because we lose sight of the value of what is before us and yearn, often unfairly, for the imagined attraction elsewhere.

Politics is so difficult, it's generally only people who aren't quite up to the task who feel convinced they are.

A 'good job' can be both practically attractive while still not good enough to devote your entire life to.