Men have solicitude about fame; and the greater share they have of it, the more afraid they are of losing it. — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
No man, however enslaved to his appetites, or hurried by his passions, can, while he preserves his intellects unimpaired, please himself with… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
No cause more frequently produces bashfulness than too high an opinion of our own importance. He that imagines an assembly filled with… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
It is peculiarly the business of a monitor to keep his own reputation untainted, lest those who can once charge him with… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
You think I love flattery (says Dr. Johnson), and so I do; but a little too much always disgusts me: that fellow… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Truth, such as is necessary to the reputation of life, is always found where it is honestly sought. — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Among those whose reputation is exhausted in a short time by its own luxuriance are the writers who take advantage of present… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
The gratification which affluence of wealth, extent of power, and eminence of reputation confer, must be always, by their own nature, confined… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Those who have any intention of deviating from the beaten roads of life, and acquiring a reputation superior to names hourly swept… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
To scatter praise or blame without regard to justice is to destroy the distinction of good and evil. Many have no other… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
The blaze of reputation cannot be blown out, but it often dies in the socket; a very few names may be considered… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Every man, however hopeless his pretensions may appear, has some project by which he hopes to rise to reputation; some art by… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
It is more reasonable to wish for reputation while it may be enjoyed, as Anacreon calls upon his companions to give him… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth. — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife. — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power. — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
