Sorrow is the mere rust of the soul. Activity will cleanse and brighten it. — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Then with no throbs of fiery pain, No cold gradations of decay, Death broke at once the vital chain, And freed his… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Let me rejoice in the light which Thou hast imparted; let me serve Thee with active zeal, humbled confidence, and wait with… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Exercise cannot secure us from that dissolution to which we are decreed; but while the soul and body continue united, it can… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Ignorance is mere privation by which nothing can be produced: it is a vacuity in which the soul sits motionless and torpid… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
The gratification of curiosity rather frees us from uneasiness than confers pleasure; we are more pained by ignorance than delighted by instruction.… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
The life of a conscientious clergyman is not easy. I have always considered a clergyman as the father of a larger family… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
In a man's letters you know, Madam, his soul lies naked, his letters are only the mirror of his breast, whatever passes… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
There are occasions on which it is noble to dare to stand alone. To be pious among infidels, to be disinterested in… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Profuseness is a cruel and crafty demon, that gradually involves her followers in dependence and debt; that is, fetters them with irons… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Sir, if a man has a mind to prance, he must study at Christ Church and All Souls. — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
Sorrow is a kind of rust of the soul, which every new idea contributes in its passage to scour away. It is… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
I will take no more physick, not even my opiates; for I have prayed that I may render up my soul to… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
It is our first duty to serve society, and after we have done that, we may attend wholly to the salvation of… — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
In a Man's Letters you know, Madam, his soul lies naked, his letters are only the mirrour of his breast. — 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
