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Home  »  Respectfully Quoted  »  Margaret of Navarre (1492–1549)

Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.

 
NUMBER: 844
AUTHOR: Margaret of Navarre (1492–1549)
QUOTATION: Three ounces are necessary, first of Patience, Then, of Repose & Peace; of Conscience
A pound entire is needful;
of Pastimes of all sorts, too,
Should be gathered as much as the hand can hold;
Of Pleasant Memory & of Hope three good drachms
There must be at least. But they should moistened be
With a liquor made from True Pleasures which rejoice the heart. Then of Love’s Magic Drops, a few—
But use them sparingly, for they may bring a flame
Which naught but tears can drown,
Grind the whole and mix therewith of Merriment, an ounce
To even. Yet all this may not bring happiness
Except in your Orisons you lift your voice
To Him who holds the gift of health.
ATTRIBUTION: MARGARET of Navarre, Recipe for a Happy Life, Written by Margaret of Navarre in the Year Fifteen Hundred, ed. Marie West King, p. 1 (1911).

A modern “happy home recipe,” author unknown, includes: “4 cups of love, 2 cups of loyalty, 3 cups of forgiveness, 1 cup of friendship, 5 spoons of hope, 2 spoons of tenderness, 4 quarts of faith, 1 barrel of laughter. Take love and loyalty, mix thoroughly with faith. Blend it with tenderness, kindness and understanding. Add friendship and hope, sprinkle abundantly with laughter. Bake it with sunshine. Serve daily with generous helpings.”
SUBJECTS: Happiness