Situated, many hundred miles from our families in the howling wilderness, I believe few would have equally enjoyed the happiness we experienced. I often observed to my brother, You see now how little nature requires to be satisfied. Felicity, the companion of content, is rather found in our own breasts than in the enjoyment of external things; And I firmly believe it requires but a little philosophy to make a man happy in whatsoever state he is. This consists in a full resignation to the will of Providence; and a resigned soul finds pleasure in a path strewed with briars and thorns.
Daniel Boone Connected to the Carolinas
Source
As quoted in "The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boon; containing a Narrative of the Wars of Kentucke" in The Discovery, Settlement And present State of Kentucke (1784) by John Filson
- year
- 1784
Cite this record
“Situated, many hundred miles from our families in the howlin…” Daniel Boone. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-719EEB0798. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/719eeb0798
More from Daniel Boone
I've opened the way for others to make fortunes, but a fortune for myself was not what I was after.
Nothing embitters my old age [like] the circulation of absurd stories that I retire as civilization advances, that I shun the white men and seek the Indians, and that now even when old, I seek to retire beyond the second Alleganies.
I can't say as ever I was lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.