Modern Man's Discontent

"At the heart of it there are likely to be moments of blank misgiving in which he (modern man) finds that the civilization of which he is a part leaves a dusty taste in his mouth. He may be very busy with many things, but he disovers one day that he is no longer sure they are worth doing. He has been much preoccupied; but he is no longer sure he knows why. He has become involved in an elaborate routine of pleasures; and they do not seem to amuse him very much. He finds it hard to believe that doing any one thing is better than doing any other thing, or, in fact, that it is better than doing nothing at all. It occurs to him that it is a great deal of trouble to live, and that even in the best of lives the thrills are few and far between. He begins more or less consciously to seek satisfactions, because he is no longer satisfied and all the while he realizes that the pursuit of happiness was always a most unhappy quest." Walter Lippmann