Samuel Johnson Quotes
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I am willing to love all mankind, except an American.
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It generally happens that assurance keeps an even pace with ability.
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Nothing flatters a man as much as the happiness of his wife; he is always proud of himself as the source of it.
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The trappings of a monarchy would set up an ordinary commonwealth.
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Hell is paved with good intentions.
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At seventy-seven it is time to be in earnest.
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Sir, I think all Christians, whether Papists or Protestants, agree in the essential articles, and that their differences are trivial, and rather political than religious.
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Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor.
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I remember very well, when I was at Oxford, an old gentleman said to me, 'Young man, ply your book diligently now, and acquire a stock of knowledge; for when years come upon you, you will find that poring upon books will be but an irksome task.'
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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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I had rather see the portrait of a dog that I know, than all the allegorical paintings they can show me in the world.
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Deign on the passing world to turn thine eyes,And pause a while from learning to be wise.There mark what ills the scholar's life assail - Toil, envy, want, the patron, and the jail.
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The law is the last result of human wisdom acting upon human experience for the benefit of the public.
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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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Those who attain any excellence, commonly spend life in one pursuit; for excellence is not often gained upon easier terms.
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Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues impracticable, and others extremely difficult.
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Whoever thinks of going to bed before twelve o'clock is a scoundrel.
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Hawkesworth said of Johnson, 'You have a memory that would convict any author of plagiarism in any court of literature in the world.'
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A gentleman who had been very unhappy in marriage, married immediately after his wife died: Johnson said, it was the triumph of hope over experience.
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We love to expect, and when expectation is either disappointed or gratified, we want to be again expecting.
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There are, in every age, new errors to be rectified, and new prejudices to be opposed.
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Merriment is always the effect of a sudden impression. The jest which is expected is already destroyed.
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What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.
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I am glad that he thanks God for anything.