All Samuel Johnson Quotes
- In my early years I read very hard. It is a sad reflection, but a true one, that I knew almost as much at eighteen… Book
- The arguments for purity of life fail of their due influence, not because they have been considered and confuted, but because they have been passed… Argument
- There is a certain race of men that either imagine it their duty, or make it their amusement, to hinder the reception of every work… Amusement
- In solitude we have our dreams to ourselves, and in company we agree to dream in concert. Agree
- Every man, however hopeless his pretensions may appear, has some project by which he hopes to rise to reputation; some art by which he imagines… Appear
- Shakespeare never had six lines together without a fault. Perhaps you may find seven, but this does not refute my general assertion. Assertion
- We are perpetually moralists, but we are geometricians only by chance. Our intercourse with intellectual nature is necessary; our speculations upon matter are voluntary, and… Chance
- A fellow will hack half a year at a block of marble to make something in stone that hardly resembles a man. The value of… Block
- To make dictionaries is dull work. Dictionaries
- Was there ever yet anything written by mere man that was wished longer by its readers, excepting Don Quixote, Robinson Crusoe, and the Pilgrim's Progress? Anything Written
- His most frequent ailment was the headache which he used to relieve by inhaling the steam of coffee. Ailment
- I love the acquaintance of young people; because, in the first place, I do not like to think myself growing old. In the next place,… Acquaintance
- The civilities of the great are never thrown away. Civilities
- The expense is damnable, the position is ridiculous, and the pleasure fleeting. Damnable
- Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes… Addison
- Bachelors have consciences, married men have wives. Bachelors
- There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure,… Benefits
- Man alone is born crying, lives complaining, and dies disappointed. Alone
- Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those who we cannot resemble. Absurdity
- One of the disadvantages of wine is that it makes a man mistake words for thoughts. Cooking
- The return of my birthday, if I remember it, fills me with thoughts which it seems to be the general care of humanity to escape. Birthday
- My dear friend, clear your mind of can't. Cant
- No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money. Art
- Agriculture not only gives riches to a nation, but the only riches she can call her own. Agriculture
- Nothing flatters a man as much as the happiness of his wife; he is always proud of himself as the source of it. Always Proud