All Samuel Johnson Quotes
- That fellow seems to me to possess but one idea, and that is a wrong one. Fellow
- He that accepts protection, stipulates obedience. We have always protected the Americans; we may therefore subject them to government. Accepting
- No government power can be abused long. Mankind will not bear it. Abused
- Without good humour, learning and bravery can only confer that superiority which swells the heart of the lion in the desert, where he roars without… Amaze
- Vulgar and inactive minds confound familiarity with knowledge, and conceive themselves informed of the whole nature of things, when they are shown their form or… Arrogance
- The mental disease of the present generation is impatience of study, contempt of the great masters of ancient wisdom, and a disposition to rely wholly… Ancestor
- Men who have flattered themselves into this opinion of their own abilities, look down on all who waste their lives over books, as a race… Abilities
- To excite opposition and inflame malevolence is the unhappy privilege of courage made arrogant by consciousness of strength. Arrogance
- No cause more frequently produces bashfulness than too high an opinion of our own importance. He that imagines an assembly filled with his merit, panting… Arrogance
- Few have abilities so much needed by the rest of the world as to be caressed on their own terms; and he that will not… Abilities
- All violation of established practice implies in its own nature a rejection of the common opinion, a defiance of common censure, and an appeal from… Advantage
- The appearance and retirement of actors are the great events of the theatrical world; and their first performances fill the pit with conjecture and prognostication,… Action
- Ye who listen with credulity to the whispers of fancy, and pursue with eagerness the phantoms of hope; who expect that age will perform the… Abyssinia
- Many falsehoods are passing into uncontradicted history. Falsehood
- If, sir, men were all virtuous, I should with great alacrity teach them all to fly. But what would be the security of the good… Afford
- Wise married women don't trouble themselves about infidelity in their husbands. Husband
- None but those who have learned the art of subjecting their senses as well as reason to hypothetical systems can be persuaded by the most… Accidents
- There are occasions on which it is noble to dare to stand alone. To be pious among infidels, to be disinterested in a time of… Alone
- I am a hardened and shameless tea drinker, who has, for twenty years, diluted his meals with only the infusion of this fascinating plant; whose… Amuses
- To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide… Animated
- Sir, they are a race of convicts and ought to be grateful for anything we allow them short of hanging. Allow
- Life will not bear refinement. You must do as other people do. Bear
- Music is the only sensual pleasure without vice. Music
- Tea's proper use is to amuse the idle, and relax the studious, and dilute the full meals of those who cannot use exercise, and will… Abstinence
- If I had no duties, and no reference to futurity, I would spend my life in driving briskly in a post-chaise with a pretty woman. Briskly