Samuel Johnson Quotes
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Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.
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Depend upon it that if a man talks of his misfortunes there is something in them that is not disagreeable to him; for where there is nothing but pure misery there never is any recourse to the mention of it.
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No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.
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This mournful truth is ev'rywhere confessed - Slow rises worth, by poverty depressed.
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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.
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Johnson said that he could repeat a complete chapter of 'The Natural History of Iceland' from the Danish of Horrebow, the whole of which was exactly thus: 'There are no snakes to be met with throughout the whole island.' 62 Chap. lxxii.
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The future is purchased by the present.
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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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To let friendship die away by negligence and silence, is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of this weary pilgrimage.
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Milton, Madam, was a genius that could cut a Colossus from a rock; but could not carve heads upon cherry-stones.
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As the Spanish proverb says, 'He, who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry the wealth of the Indies with him.' So it is in travelling; a man must carry knowledge with him, if he would bring home knowledge.
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Wickedness is always easier than virtue; for it takes the short cut to everything.
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When any calamity has been suffered the first thing to be remembered is, how much has been escaped.
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How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?
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Round numbers are always false.
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The applause of a single human being is of great consequence.
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Everything that enlarges the sphere of human powers, that shows man he can do what he thought he could not do, is valuable.
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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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What is easy is seldom excellent.
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Fears of the brave, and follies of the wise!From Marlb'rough's eyes the streams of dotage flow,And Swift expires, a driv'ler and a show.
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We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us.
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Every state of society is as luxurious as it can be. Men always take the best they can get.
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The Churchyard abounds with images which find a mirror in every mind, and with sentiments to which every bosom returns an echo.
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Always, Sir, set a high value on spontaneous kindness. He whose inclination prompts him to cultivate your friendship of his own accord, will love you more than one whom you have been at pains to attach to you.