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Samuel Johnson Quotes - Page 24

All Quotes Abstinence Abuse Accidents Achievement Adventure Advertising Affection Age Aging Alcohol Ambition Anxiety Appearance Appreciation Army Arrogance Art Atheism Attitude Authority Being Yourself Belief Benevolence Bitterness Blindness Bravery Business Change Character Charity Childhood Children Choices Church Civility Communication Community Compassion Confidence Consciousness Cooking Corruption Country Courage Crime Criticism Culture Curiosity Darkness Death Deception Defeat Design Desire Determination Devil Difficulty Dignity Disappointment Doubt Drinking Duty Dying Education Effort Elegance Energy English Language Envy Equality Evidence Evil Excellence Exercise Expectations Failing Failure Fame Fashion Fate Fear Feelings Flattery Flight Focus Food Freedom Friends Friendship Funny Future Genius Giving Glory Gold Goodness Grace Gratitude Greatness Grief Grieving Guilt Happiness Hate Hatred Health Heart Heaven History Home Honesty Honor Hope House Humanity Hunger Hurt Husband Hypocrisy Ignorance Imagination Imitation Imperfection Injury Innocence Inspirational Integrity Intelligence Journey Joy Judgement Judging Judgment Justice Kindness Knowledge Labor Language Laughter Laziness Learning Liberty Life Life And Death Life And Love Literature Losing Loss Love Lying Mankind Manners Marriage Meditation Memories Miscarriage Modesty Money Morality Morning Motivational Nature Office Opportunity Originality Overcoming Pain Passion Past Patience Peace Perfection Perseverance Philosophy Pleasure Poetry Politics Positive Positive Thinking Poverty Power Praise Prejudice Preparation Pride Privacy Progress Property Prosperity Prudence Purpose Quality Reading Reality Reflection Regret Rejection Religion Repentance Reputation Resentment Respect Retirement Revenge Revolution Sacrifice Safety Sailing School Science Security Self Esteem Self Love Shame Silence Sin Sleep Sloth Society Solitude Sorrow Soul Spring Struggle Study Stupidity Style Success Suffering Sunshine Talent Teaching Temptation Theatre Time Tragedy Travel Trust Truth Tyranny Uncertainty Understanding Values Violence Virtue Waiting Wall War Water Weakness Wealth Whiskey Wife Wine Winter Wisdom Wit Work Worry Writing Youth

Happiness, said he, must be something solid and permanent, without fear and without uncertainty.

Happiness," said he, "must be something solid and permanent, without fear and without uncertainty.

Said, Permanent, Uncertainty

Samuel Johnson, John Hawkesworth (1820). “Rasselas, prince of Abissinia”, p.48

Example is always more efficacious than precept.

Example, Statistics

'Rasselas' (1759) ch. 30

That is the happiest conversation where there is no competition, no vanity, but a calm, quiet interchange of sentiments...

Communication, Vanity, Competition

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson (1824). “The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D., Comprehending an Account of His Studies, and Numerous Works, in Chronological Order: A Series of His Epistolary Correspondence and Conversations with Many Eminent Persons; and Various Original Pieces of His Composition, Never Before Published; the Whole Exhibiting a View of Literature and Literary Men in Great Britain, for Near Half a Century During which He Flourished”, p.335

Nothing is difficult, when gain and honour unite their influence.

Focus, Gains, Influence

Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy (1857). “The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: With an Essay on His Life and Genius”, p.412

An author places himself uncalled before the tribunal of criticism and solicits fame at the hazard of disgrace.

Writing, Criticism, Hazards

Samuel Johnson (1810). “The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper: Broome, Pope, Pitt, Thomson”, p.114

It ought to be the first endeavour of a writer to distinguish nature from custom; or that which is established because it is right, from that which is right only because it is established; that he may neither violate essential principles by a desire of novelty, nor debar himself from the attainment of beauties within his view, by a needless fear of breaking rules which no literary dictator had authority to enact.

Writing, Views, Desire

Samuel Johnson, Peter Martin (2009). “Samuel Johnson: Selected Writings”, p.197, Harvard University Press

Whatever you have spend less.

Money

Quoted in James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) (letter to Boswell, 7 Dec. 1782)

Deign on the passing world to turn thine eyes, And pause awhile from letters, to be wise.

Wise, Art, Philosophy

'The Vanity of Human Wishes' (1749) l. 157

Commerce however we may please ourselves with the contrary opinion, is one of the daughters of fortune, inconstant and deceitful as her mother. She chooses her residence where she is least expected, and shifts her abode when her continuance is, in appearance, most firmly settled.

Daughter, Mother, May

Samuel Johnson (1825). “The works of Samuel Johnson, with Murphy's essay, ed. by R. Lynam”, p.292

It requires but little acquaintance with the heart to know that woman's first wish is to be handsome; and that, consequently, the readiest method of obtaining her kindness is to praise her beauty.

Kindness, Heart, Wish

Samuel Johnson, Hester Lynch Piozzi, James Boswell (1804). “The beauties of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.: consisting of maxims and observations, moral, critical, and miscellaneous: to which are now added biographical anecdotes of the doctor, selected from the works of Mrs. Piozzi;--his Life, recently published by Mr. Boswell, and other authentic testimonies; also his will, and the sermon he wrote for the late Doctor Dodd”, p.135

The business of life summons us away from useless grief, and calls us to the exercise of those virtues of which we are lamenting our deprivation.

Grief, Exercise, Useless

Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy, Francis Pearson Walesby (1825). “Essay on the life and genius of Dr. Johnson [by Arthur Murphy] Poems. Rasselas, prince of Abissinia. Letters”, p.311

All truth is valuable, and satirical criticism may be considered as useful when it rectifies error and improves judgment; he that refines the public taste is a public benefactor.

Errors, Criticism, May

Samuel Johnson (1782). “The Beauties of Johnson: Consisting of Maxims and Observations, Moral, Critical, and Miscellaneous, Accurately Extracted from the Works of Dr. Samuel Johnson, and Arranged in Alphabetical Order, After the Manner of the Duke de la Roche-Foucault's Maxims”, p.176

It is scarcely credible to what degree discernment may be dazzled by the mist of pride, and wisdom infatuated by the intoxication of flattery.

Pride, Degrees, May

Samuel Johnson (1848). “The Wisdom of the Rambler, Adventurer, and Idler”, p.216

We are told, that the black bear is innocent; but I should not like to trust myself with him.

Black, Bears, Trust Myself

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson (1824). “The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D., Comprehending an Account of His Studies, and Numerous Works, in Chronological Order: A Series of His Epistolary Correspondence and Conversations with Many Eminent Persons; and Various Original Pieces of His Composition, Never Before Published; the Whole Exhibiting a View of Literature and Literary Men in Great Britain, for Near Half a Century During which He Flourished”, p.325

Many useful and valuable books lie buried in shops and libraries, unknown and unexamined, unless some lucky compiler opens them by chance, and finds an easy spoil of wit and learning.

Lying, Book, Library

Samuel Johnson (1818). “A Dictionary Of The English Language; In Which The Words Are Deduced From Their Originals; And Illustrated In Their Different Significations, By Examples From The Best Writers: Together With A History of the Language, and an English Grammar”, p.7

I would be loath to speak ill of any person who I do not know deserves it, but I am afraid he is an attorney.

Funny, Law, Would Be

Samuel Johnson (1836). “Johnsoniana: Or, Supplement to Boswell: Being Anecdotes and Sayings of Dr. Johnson”, p.88

Players, Sir! I look on them as no better than creatures set upon tables and joint stools to make faces and produce laughter, like dancing dogs.

Dog, Laughter, Player

In James Boswell 'The Life of Samuel Johnson' (1791) vol. 2, p. 404 (1775)

It is better a man should be abused than forgotten.

Men, Abuse, Forgotten

Samuel Johnson (1836). “Johnsoniana; or supplement to Boswell; being Anecdotes and sayings of Dr. Johnson, etc”, p.57

It is indeed not easy to distinguish affectation from habit; he that has once studiously developed a style, rarely writes afterwards with complete ease.

Writing, Style, Ease

Samuel Johnson, Thomas Babington Macaulay Baron Macaulay (1854). “Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets: With Critical Observation on Their Works”, p.64

If we require more perfection from women than from ourselves, it is doing them honor.

Women, Perfection, Honor

In youth, it is common to measure right and wrong by the opinion of the world, and in age, to act without any measure but interest, and to lose shame without substituting virtue.

Age, World, Opinion

Samuel Johnson (1761). “The Rambler: In Four Volumes”, p.179

If a man begins to read in the middle of a book, and feels an inclination to go on, let him not quit it to go to the beginning. He may perhaps not feel again the inclination.

Book, Reading, Men

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson (1859). “The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.: Including a Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”, p.65

Advice, as it always gives a temporary appearance of superiority, can never be very grateful, even when it is most necessary or most judicious; but, for the same reason, every one is eager to instruct his neighbors.

Grateful, Giving, Advice

Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy (1857). “The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: With an Essay on His Life and Genius”, p.139

Never mind the use--do it!

Mind, Use, Utility

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson (1824). “The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D., Comprehending an Account of His Studies, and Numerous Works, in Chronological Order: A Series of His Epistolary Correspondence and Conversations with Many Eminent Persons; and Various Original Pieces of His Composition, Never Before Published; the Whole Exhibiting a View of Literature and Literary Men in Great Britain, for Near Half a Century During which He Flourished”, p.78

When speculation has done its worst, two and two still make four.

Inspirational, Humility, Two

The Idler

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