The Pleasures of Life

What It's About

A two-part collection of essays on what makes life worth living. Part I deals with the everyday sources of contentment: duty, books, friends, time, travel, home, science and education. Part II takes on larger themes such as ambition, wealth, health, love, the arts, the troubles of life, religion and the hope of progress. The author argues that cheerfulness is something we owe to others as well as to ourselves. The book is full of quotations from poets, philosophers and writers of many ages, and the tone is warm, practical and optimistic.

Key Concepts

The central idea is that happiness is partly a matter of choice and habit, and that we have a duty to cultivate it because our mood shapes the people around us. Duty and happiness are presented as allies rather than opposites. Other recurring themes are the value of good reading, the importance of friendship, making wise use of time, finding rest and renewal in nature, and taking a hopeful view of human progress. As a product of its age, the book's confident optimism will strike some modern readers as gentle and a little untroubled, but that is part of its charm.

About the Author

John Lubbock, later 1st Baron Avebury (1834–1913), was an English banker, Liberal politician and naturalist. He combined a career in the family bank with public service as a Member of Parliament, and he was an energetic campaigner for education, scientific learning and public holidays for working people. He was also a well-known popular writer and a lifelong enthusiast for natural history.