The mere power of saving what is already in our hands must be of easy acquisition to every mind; and as the… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Everything that enlarges the sphere of human powers, that shows man he can do what he thought he could not do, is… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
There is reason to suspect, that the distinctions of mankind have more show than value, when it is found that all agree… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Solitude is the surest nurse of all prurient passions, and a girl in the hurry of preparation, or tumult of gaiety, has… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
In life's last scene what prodigies surprise, Fears of the brave, and follies of the wise! From Marlborough's eyes the streams of… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
It is justly considered as the greatest excellency of art to imitate nature; but it is necessary to distinguish those parts of… — 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
A simile, to be perfect, must both illustrate and ennoble the subject; must show it to the understanding in a clearer view,… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Do not discourage your children from hoarding, if they have a taste to it; whoever lays up his penny rather than part… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Advice is offensive, not because it lays us open to unexpected regret, or convicts us of any fault which had escaped our… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
It is, indeed, at home that every man must be known by those who would make a just estimate either of his… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
All censure of a man's self is oblique praise. It is in order to show how much he can spare. — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
The maxim of Cleobulus, "Mediocrity is best," has been long considered a universal principle, extending through the whole compass of life and… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
An Italian philosopher said that "time was his estate"; an estate indeed which will produce nothing without cultivation, but will always abundantly… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
To be flattered is grateful, even when we know that our praises are not believed by those who pronounce them; for they… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
The imaginations excited by the view of an unknown and untravelled wilderness are not such as arise in the artificial solitude of… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
How can children credit the assertions of parents, which their own eyes show them to be false? Few parents act in such… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
It is dangerous for mortal beauty, or terrestrial virtue, to be examined by too strong a light. The torch of Truth shows… — 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
