All life is an experiment.
The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.
This line is widely circulated under this name. It may be a paraphrase, a later coinage, or a doubtful ascription. It stays because the collection used it; treat the byline as traditional, not proven.
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The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.
Emerson
The Commonplace