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Samuel Johnson Quotes about Style

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Some read for style, and some for argument: one has little care about the sentiment, he observes only how it is expressed; another regards not the conclusion, but is diligent to mark how it is inferred; they read for

Some read for style, and some for argument: one has little care about the sentiment, he observes only how it is expressed; another regards not the conclusion, but is diligent to mark how it is inferred; they read for other purposes than the attainment of practical knowledge; and are no more likely to grow wise by an examination of a treatise of moral prudence, than an architect to inflame his devotion by considering attentively the proportions of a temple.

Samuel Johnson
Wise, Reading, Style
Samuel Johnson (1810). “The works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: With An essay on his life and genius”, p.292

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

Samuel Johnson
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

A Poet, Naturalist, and Historian, Who left scarcely any style of writing untouched, And touched nothing that he did not adorn.

Samuel Johnson
Writing, Style, Poet
Quoted in James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) (entry for 22 June 1776)

Whatever professes to benefit by pleasing must please at once. The pleasures of the mind imply something sudden and unexpected; that which elevates must always surprise.

Samuel Johnson
Style, Mind, Benefits
Samuel Johnson (1977). “Selected Poetry and Prose”, p.380, Univ of California Press

Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison.

Samuel Johnson
Night, Giving, Style
'The Lives of the English Poets' (1779-81) 'Addison'

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