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Samuel Johnson Quotes - Page 27

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

Lawful and settled authority is very seldom resisted when it is well employed.

Lawful and settled authority is very seldom resisted when it is well employed.

Authority, Wells, Employed

Samuel Johnson (1761). “The Rambler: In Four Volumes”, p.271

Every man's affairs, however little, are important to himself.

Men, Important, Littles

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson, Edmond Malone (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.334

He that has too much to do will do something wrong.

Too Much, Busy

I have always considered a clergyman as the father of a larger family than he is able to maintain.

Father, Able, Clergymen

Samuel Johnson, James Boswell (1825). “The Table Talk of Dr. Johnson: Comprising Opinions and Anecdotes of Life and Literature, Men, Manners, and Morals”, p.212

It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.

Wife, Foolish, Chastity

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson, Edmond Malone (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.378

There is no being so poor and so contemptible, who does not think there is somebody still poorer, and still more contemptible.

Thinking, Doe, Poor

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson, Edmond Malone (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.10

I live in the crowd of jollity, not so much to enjoy company as to shun myself.

Crowds, Enjoy, Company

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.237

Every man wishes to be wise, and they who cannot be wise are almost always cunning.

Wise, Men, Wish

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson (1786). “Boswell's Life of Johnson: including Boswell's Journal of a tour of the Hebrides, and Johnson's diary of A journey into North Wales”, p.247

A man had rather have a hundred lies told of him than one truth which he does not wish should be told.

Lying, Men, Wish

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson, Edmond Malone (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.204

Every man speaks and writes with intent to be understood; and it can seldom happen but he that understands himself might convey his notions to another, if, content to be understood, he did not seek to be admired.

Writing, Men, Might

Samuel Johnson (1800). “The Idler: With Additional Essays”, p.122

To do something is in every man's power.

Men, Deeds, Every Man

A man with a good coat upon his back meets with a better reception than he who has a bad one.

Men, Coats, Reception

1763 Remark, 20 Jul. Quoted in James Boswell The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), vol.1.

We ought not to raise expectations which it is not in our power to satisfy.-It is more pleasing to see smoke brightening into flame, than flame sinking into smoke.

Flames, Expectations, Sinking

The balls of sight are so formed, that one man's eyes are spectacles to another, to read his heart with.

Heart, Eye, Men

Every man has a lurking wish to appear considerable in his native place.

Men, Wish, Native Place

Letter to Sir Joshua Reynolds, 17 July 1771, in James Boswell 'The Life of Samuel Johnson' (1791) vol. 2, p. 141

There are people whom one should like very well to drop, but would not wish to be dropped by.

People, Wish, Should

In James Boswell 'The Life of Samuel Johnson' (1791) vol. 4, p. 73 (March 1781)

There is not, perhaps, to a mind well instructed, a more painful occurrence, than the death of one we have injured without reparation.

Mind, Painful, Human Condition

Samuel Johnson (1784). “The Rambler: In Four Volumes..”, p.6

The belief of immortality is impressed upon all men, and all men act under an impression of it, however they may talk, and though, perhaps, they may be scarcely sensible of it.

Men, May, Belief

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson (1859). “The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.: Including a Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”, p.524

No man is obliged to do as much as he can do. A man is to have part of his life to himself.

Men, Leisure, Can Do

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.12

With what hope can we endeavor to persuade the ladies that the time spent at the toilet is lost in vanity.

Vanity, Toilets, Lost

Samuel Johnson (1811). “Works”, p.368

Keeping accounts, sir, is of no use when a man is spending his own money, and has nobody to whom he is to account. You won't eat less beef today because you have written down what it cost yesterday.

Money, Men, Yesterday

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson (1859). “The Life of Samuel Johnson”, p.126

Politeness is fictitious benevolence.

Manners, Politeness, Benevolence

Dr. Samuel Johnson (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Samuel Johnson (Illustrated)”, p.8598, Delphi Classics

If a man is in doubt whether it would be better for him to expose himself to martyrdom or not, he should not do it. He must be convinced that he has a delegation from heaven.

Men, Heaven, Doubt

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson, Edmond Malone (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.232

Pain and disease awaken us to convictions which are necessary to our moral condition.

Pain, Disease, Moral

The natural progress of the works of men is from rudeness to convenience, from convenience to elegance, and from elegance to nicety.

Men, Progress, Rudeness

Samuel Johnson (1823). “The works of Samuel Johnson”, p.252

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