h particular regions they flourish, all are alike human
beings, bearing the same mark. How strange that among fellows there
should be such a prodigious difference in requirements! And here the
analogies of our comparison fail us. Plants and animals of the same
families have identical wants. In human life we observe quite the
contrary. What conclusion shall we draw from this, if not that with us
there is a considerable elasticity in the nature and number of needs?

Is it well, is it favorable to the development of the individual and his
happiness, and to the development and happiness of society, that man
should have a multitude of needs, and bend his energies to their
satisfaction? Let us return for a moment to our comparison with inferior
beings. Provided that their essential wants are satisfied, they live
content. Is this true of men? No. In all classes of society we find
discontent. I leave completely out of the question those who lack the
necessities of life. One cannot with justice count in the number of
malcontents those from whom hunger, cold, and misery wring complaints. I
am considering now that multitude of people who live under conditions at
least supportable. Whence comes their heart-burning? Why is it found not
only among those of modest though sufficient means, but also under
shades of ever-increasing refinement, all along the ascending scale,
even to opulence and the summits of social place? They talk of the
contented middle classes. Who talk of them? People who, judging from
without, think that as soon as one begins to enjoy ease he ought to be
satisfied. But the middle classes themselves--do they consider
themselves satisfied? Not the least in the world. If there are people at
once rich and content, be assured that they are content because they
know how to be so, not because they are rich. An animal is satisfied
when it has eaten; it lies down and sleeps. A man also can lie down and
sleep for a time, but it never lasts. When he becomes accustomed to this
contentment, he tires of it and demands a greater. Man's appetite is not
appeased by food; it increases with eating. This may seem absurd, but it
is strictly true.

And the fact that those who make the most outcry are almost always those
who should find the best reasons for contentment, proves unquestionably
that happiness is not allied to the number of our needs and the zeal we
put into their cultivation. It is for everyone's interest to let this
truth