ABSTRACT
Older ideas of happiness through perfection in virtue or through the blessings of an afterlife were not abandoned, but they were increasingly subordinated to the new enthusiasms for earthly joys. Savoring and seeking worldly success did not detract from real happiness, they defined its essence; and some commentators added, there was no merit whatsoever in pain or deprivation. People were increasingly urged to be cheerful, and to expect those around them to be cheerful in turn: a “cheerful revolution” was arguably as significant as the unprecedented concepts of happiness, for it created new standards for acceptable emotional behavior. Restraint might be even more widely recommended in Protestant regions like Britain or the Atlantic colonies of North America. Several historians have noted a preference for slight melancholy in the moods of these regions, as people, conscious of their sins, sought to “walk humbly” in the sight of God.
