This dialogue, On the Happy Life (De beata vita), is an early text of the North African church father, St. Augustine of Hippo. It stands at the end of a long tradition of philosophical inquiry devoted to the question which way of life leads to happiness (eudaimonia). For Augustine this question is sentinel to his life's journey and he seeks to incorporate Neoplatonism thought into his conclusions. This text also gives rare insight into his personal life and is one of the first texts to make reference to a 'birthday' in the western world.

Novelist and columnist Anna Quindlen reflects on what it takes to get a life - to live deeply every day and from your own unique self, rather than merely to exist through your days.

Marianne North was a Victorian figure of some consequence. An amateur botanist and painter, she journeyed to the world's farthest reaches, to its ancient and new civilizations. She also wrote one of the major travel accounts of the Victorian period. Written after she retired from travel because of ill health, Recollections of a Happy Life incorporates journals and letters from throughout her travelling years. The huge manuscript left at her death was reduced and edited by her sister and published in 1892 in three volumes. Volume 1 is reprinted here. In a new Introduction, Susan Morgan raises issues of gender, imperialism, and the Victorian approach to science.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1873.

Every person experiences doubts. What keeps someone together in these times is a firm foundation in God’s faithfulness, rather than allowing their lives to be moved on a roller coaster of emotions. The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life has stood the test of time, and helped millions understand how to have full and complete assurance in God alone. Personal reflection questions help the reader to remember that this is not just a classic to be enjoyed, but also a journey to walked.

This book tells us how to understand the nature of life, that is, life habit energies and habitual mental operation modes; how to observe the life benefits projected by different mental models, and see through the causes behind them. In this book, teacher Zhi Xin shared the mystery of how ordinary people can really play to lead a happy life. Everything he shared comes from his own spiritual practice for decades, through which he has successfully proved in person all kinds of mysterious manifestations, and then summed them up into a very clear principal and shared it with everyone without reservation. This mystery lies in every one of us. Although everyone is born with self-sufficient innate freedom and perfect wisdom in life, one may desend from realization to confusion because one may acquire wrong knowledge or understanding during the course of life. Such false belief may even evolve or expand to become the confusion and/or pain of life, the joys and sorrows of families, the contradictions and struggles between countries, and the various crises that mankind is currently facing. Under any of these circumstances, it will become an unattainable luxury for one to live happily and freely! Even the most basic demands of human beings who just want to survive can be totally destroyed by the driving mode of opposition and confrontation with each other! Therefore, the launch of this book is like a lighthouse in the dark night, making it full of hope as long as he or she truly masters the mystery of operating life shared in this book. As this book says, it only takes three years to cleanse our destiny, and then we can get back all the innate good things that we owned at birth! This book emphasizes this dharma of mind repeatedly. With the help of the complete wisdom arising from the book, we can break the delusion layer by layer until we can see clearly the truth of life. It is the moment when we will free ourselves from eternal imprisonment and give out a hearty laugh from the bottom of our heart!

Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.