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

present, since it comes under the heading of Envy,
with which we shall be concerned in a later
chapter.
For the private individual, who cannot alter the
laws and institutions under which he lives, it is
difficult to cope with the situation that oppressive
moralists created and perpetuate. It is, however,
worth while to realise that exciting pleasures are
not a road to happiness, although so long as more
satisfying joys remain unattainable a man may find
it hardly possible to endure life except by the help
of excitement. In such a situation the only thing that
a prudent man can do is to ration himself, and not
to allow himself such an amount of fatiguing
pleasure as will undermine his health or interfere
with his work. The radical cure for the troubles of
the young lies in a change of public morals. In the
meantime a young man does well to reflect that he
will ultimately be in a position to marry, and that
he will be unwise if he lives in such a way as to
make a happy marriage impossible, which may
easily happen through frayed nerves and an