Best James Boswell Quotes
- But the question is, whether the animals who endure such sufferings of various kinds for the service and entertainment of man, would accept existence upon… Accept
- Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed. Cellar
- I am, I flatter myself, completely a citizen of the world. In my travels through Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Corsica, France, I never felt myself… Citizen
- My mind was, as it were, strongly impregnated with the Johnsonian ether. Ether
- I find I journalize too tediously. Let me try to abbreviate. Abbreviate
- I fancy mankind may come, in time, to write all aphoristically. All
- Influence must ever be in proportion to property; and it is right it should. Influence
- As all who come into the country must obey the King, so all who come into an university must be of the Church. All
- In every place, where there is any thing worthy of observation, there should be a short printed directory for strangers. Any
- It is wonderful that five thousand years have now elapsed since the creation of the world, and still it is undecided whether or not there… All
- My readers, who may at first be apt to consider Quotation as downright pedantry, will be surprised when I assure them, that next to the… Adduced
- I am now to offer some thoughts upon that sameness or familiarity which we frequently find between passages in different authors without quotation. This may… Authors
- One must be strict even in little things. Inspirational
- Those who would extirpate evil from the world know little of human nature. As well might punch be palatable without souring as existence agreeable without… Agreeable
- When we know exactly all a man's views and how he comes to speak and act so and so, we lose any respect for him,… Act
- If a man is prodigal, he cannot be truly generous. Generosity
- Melancholy cannot be clearly proved to others, so it is better to be silent about it. Better
- Many infidels have maintained that Ignorance is the mother of Devotion. Devotion
- The pleasure of gratifying whim is very great. It is known only by those who are whimsical. Gratifying
- There is indeed a strange prejudice against Quotation. Inspirational
- Quotation is more universal and more ancient than one would perhaps believe. Ancient
- Boswell: But, Sir is it not somewhat singular that you should happen to have Cocker's Arithmetic about you on your journey? Dr. Johnson: Why, Sir… Arithmetic
- He had no settled plan of life, nor looked forward at all, but merely lived from day to day. Yet he read a great deal… All
- Nay, Sir, it was not the WINE that made your head ache, but the SENSE that I put into it' 'What, Sir! will sense make… Ache
- I am so fond of tea that I could write a whole dissertation on its virtues. It comforts and enlivens without the risks attendant on… Attendant