Quoted in A Dictionary of Quotations, in Most Frequent Use by D.E. Macdonnel (1809) translated from French: Le bonheur de l'homme en cette vi ne consiste pas á être sans passions: il consiste à en être le maître.
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The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.

— Alfred, Lord Tennyson

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions." in the context of "Quoted in A Dictionary of Quotations, in Most Frequent Use by D.E. Macdonnel (1809) translated from French: Le bonheur de l'homme en cette vi ne consiste pas á être sans passions: il consiste à en être le maître." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Alfred, Lord Tennyson" (Misattributed) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

About Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign, after William Wordsworth, and is one of the most popular English poets.