Laudator Temporis Acti

Edwin Way Teale, Journey Into Summer (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1960), p. 150:

The happy men—who are they? A hundred times during our travels with the seasons I asked these same questions of those with whom we became acquainted along the way:

"Who is the happiest person you know? What does he do? What is he like?"

I scarcely expected to find a common denominator of happiness, and I did not. Those who were named were infinitely various. Many were poor, a few were rich, several were sick, one or two were not what would be called strictly law-abiding. With only a solitary exception, in which one person named himself, the happiest person was always someone else. The only similarity I could find was that almost all of those mentioned had lost themselves in activities which they enjoyed tremendously. These activities were often of no great importance. Not infrequently they appeared trivial and even ridiculous to others.

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