No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities.

Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) was an American writer best known for compiling and publishing aphorisms and moral reflections, especially in his widely reprinted commonplace-style collections. This remark belongs to that tradition of nineteenth-century sententious prose that treats “happiness” less as a stable condition than as a psychological achievement—often maintained by hope, self-deception, or comforting beliefs. Bovee wrote during a period when popular moral philosophy and early psychological thinking frequently emphasized the role of imagination, optimism, and “illusions” in sustaining everyday life amid social change and personal uncertainty.

Bovee suggests that human contentment depends not only on facts but also on sustaining narratives—hopes, ideals, and selective perceptions—that soften reality’s harsher edges. “Delusion” here is not merely pathological error; it can mean the benign illusions people live by: faith in a better future, confidence in one’s worth, or romanticized views of love and purpose. The second sentence sharpens the claim by placing delusions alongside realities as co-equal necessities, implying that a purely disenchanted, strictly factual life may be psychologically unlivable. The aphorism anticipates later ideas about “positive illusions” and the mind’s need for meaning-making.