Samuel Johnson Quotes
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Every man has a right to utter what he thinks truth, and every other man has a right to knock him down for it. Martyrdom is the test.
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I am willing to love all mankind, except an American.
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If pleasure was not followed by pain, who would forbear it?
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It generally happens that assurance keeps an even pace with ability.
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Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those who we cannot resemble.
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Getting money is not all a man's business: to cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life.
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Words are but the signs of ideas.
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It is better to live rich than to die rich.
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Bounty always receives part of its value from the manner in which it is bestowed.
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With these celestial Wisdom calms the mind,And makes the happiness she does not find.
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It is dangerous for mortal beauty, or terrestrial virtue, to be examined by too strong a light. The torch of Truth shows much that we cannot, and all that we would not, see.
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I have found men to be more kind than I expected, and less just.
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You teach your daughters the diameters of the planets and wonder when you are done that they do not delight in your company.
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When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.
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Leisure and curiosity might soon make great advances in useful knowledge, were they not diverted by minute emulation and laborious trifles.
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At seventy-seven it is time to be in earnest.
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When making your choice in life, do not neglect to live.
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Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor.
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You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.
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You cannot spend money in luxury without doing good to the poor. Nay, you do more good to them by spending it in luxury, than by giving it; for by spending it in luxury, you make them exert industry, whereas by giving it, you keep them idle.
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Those who attain any excellence, commonly spend life in one pursuit; for excellence is not often gained upon easier terms.
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Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.
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The world is like a grand staircase, some are going up and some are going down.
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Every man is rich or poor according to the proportion between his desires and his enjoyments.