To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.

Gustave Flaubert (1821 - 1880)

Manifest plainness,

Embrace simplicity¹,

Reduce selfishness,

Have few desires.

Lao-tzu (604 BC - 531 BC), The Way of Lao-tzu

Forgiveness is almost a selfish act because of its immense benefits to the one who forgives.

Lawana Blackwell, The Dowry of Miss Lydia Clark, 1999

Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.

Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

Glory built on selfish principles is shame and guilt².

William Cowper (1731 - 1800)