I need the original source of a quotation attributed to William Butler
Yeats The quotation is, "Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor
this thing nor that, but simply growth. We are happy when we are
growing."

I need the author (it may not be Yeats), book title, edition details,
and page number.

Thanks,
Bodhipaksa

Hello.

The quotation is actually from John Butler Yeats, father of W.B.
Yeats.

In a long letter dated June 2, 1909, John Butler Yeats wrote to a Miss
Grierson:

"It is only when time hangs heavy on our hands that we turn to art and
deman the right thing from artists and dramatists and poets and
painters. Here they are too busy with the material conditions of
happiness, as yet they have not addressed themselves directly to
happiness. And happiness... what is it? I say it is neither virtue nor
pleasure nor this thing or that, but simply growth. We are happy when
we  are growing. It is the primal law of all nature and the universe,
and literature and art are the cosmic movements working in the
conscious mind."

From: Page 121 of J.B. Yeats' "Letters to His Son W.B. Yeats and
Others 1869-1922" (E.P. Dutton & Co., 1946).

Copies of this book are widely available at libraries and from used
book dealers such as those listed on Alibris:
http://www.alibris.com/search/detail.cfm?chunk=25&qauth=Yeats%20Jack&qtit=J%20B%20Yeats%20Letters%20to%20His%20Son&S=R&bid=8034725075&pqtynew=&page=1&matches=1&qsort=p

search strategy: a google search of the quotation located a document
that credit the quotation to WB Yeats, but cited Lewis Mumford's book
"The Conduct of Life" (1951) as a source. I looked at that book and it
actually attributed the quotation to the letters of J.B. Yeats.

I hope this helps.

---

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 25 Oct 2002 11:09 PDT

Sorry for that typo.
It should have been:
"...credited the quotation..."

---

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 25 Oct 2002 12:41 PDT

I noticed another typo. It should have been "...and
demand the right thing from artists..." 
Sorry about that.

Thank you! This has saved me many hours (probably fruitless) of
searching in libraries. I'm particularly impressed because as a
regular Google user I was unable to locate any referenced sources for
the quote.