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

miles from Konigsberg in all his life. Darwin, after
going round the world, spent the whole of the rest
of his life in his own house. Marx, after stirring up
a few revolutions, decided to spend the remainder
of his days in the British Museum. Altogether it
will be found that a quiet life is characteristic of
great men, and that their pleasures have not been of
the sort that would look exciting to the outward
eye. No great achievement is possible without
persistent work, so absorbing and so difficult that
little energy is left over for the more strenuous
kinds of amusement, except such as serve to
recuperate physical energy during holidays, of
which Alpine climbing may serve as the best
example.
The capacity to endure a more or less monotonous
life is one which should be acquired in childhood.
Modern parents are greatly to blame in this
respect; they provide their children with far too
many passive amusements, such as shows and good
things to eat, and they do not realise the importance
to a child of having one day like another, except, of