Samuel Johnson
~ 1709 - 1784
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) was an English writer, lexicographer, and critic who is best known for his influential work, "A Dictionary of the English Language," published in 1755. Johnson's witty essays, literary criticism, and biographies were also highly regarded during the 18th century and continue to be studied for their insights into the English language and literature.
Don't think of retiring from the world until the world will be sorry that you retire. I hate a fellow whom pride or cowardice or laziness drives into a corner, and who does nothing when he is there but sit and growl. Let him come out as I do, and bark.
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No complaint... is more common than that of a scarcity of money.
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If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.
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Exercise is labor without weariness.
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The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
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All theory is against freedom of the will; all experience for it.
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Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.
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'Tis healthy to be sick sometimes.
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Clear your mind of “cant”.
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Words are but the signs of ideas.
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Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.
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We need to be reminded more than we need to be instructed.
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Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.
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To love one that is great, is almost to be great one's self.
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The true art of memory is the art of attention.
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The end result of all ambition is to be happy at home.
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No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.
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It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.
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The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.
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Keep in mind that the true measure of an individual is how he treats a person who can do him absolutely no good.
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Money and time are the heaviest burdens of life, and... the unhappiest of all mortals are those who have more of either than they know how to use.
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Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged.
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Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.
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I shall never be ashamed of citing a bad author if the line is good.
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There are few ways in which a man can be more innocently employed than in getting money.
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To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labor tends, and of which every desire prompts the prosecution.
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Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth.
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