The-Conquest-of-Happiness-by-Bertrand-Russell

can find happiness in making war upon the latter.
Pleasures exactly similar to those of my gardener
so far as their emotional content is concerned are
open to the most highly educated people. The
difference made by education is only in regard to
the activities by which these pleasures are to be
obtained. Pleasures of achievement demand
difficulties such that beforehand success seems
doubtful although in the end it is usually achieved.
This is perhaps the chief reason why a not
excessive estimate of one’s own powers is a
source of happiness. The man who underestimates
himself is perpetually being surprised by success,
whereas the man who overestimates himself is just
as often surprised by failure. The former kind of
surprise is pleasant, the latter unpleasant. It is
therefore wise to be not unduly conceited, though
also not too modest to be enterprising.
Of the more highly educated sections of the
community, the happiest in the present day are the
men of science. Many of the most eminent of them
are emotionally simple, and obtain from their work