Curiosity Quote by Joseph Addison
“Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Spectator, Joseph Addison, 1711
Novelty excites imagination, satisfying curiosity and expanding the soul’s experience.
In simple terms: New things delight and broaden us.
Key Takeaway
Seek novel experiences.
Themes
creativity
curiosity
pleasure
Mood
enthusiastic
inspired
Type
literary
motivational
When to use this quote
- travel
- education
- art appreciation
Key Concepts
novelty
imagination
Questions to Reflect On
- What new experience has recently inspired you?
- How do you balance novelty with stability?
A Different Perspective
Excessive novelty can be overwhelming.
![“We have no clear ideas of the agency of [demonic] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but tells us plainly that he is always watching us, and desiring to sift us as wheat. I believe we give him no more than his due, when we charge him with having a…” quote by John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c75/john-newton-6629_abundance_we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of_2907.jpg)
![“[T]he question "What is everything?" has no meaning, even though it seems to be profound. [...] The point is, perhaps, that I am not looking for a verbal answer, just as when I ask for a kiss, I do not want a piece of paper with "A kiss" written on it. It is rather that metaphysical wonder looks…” quote by Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/705/alan-w-watts-9497_curiosity_t-he-question-what-is-everything-has-no_3984.jpg)
![“By profession a biologist, [Thomas Henry Huxley] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences. Absolutely nothing was uninteresting to him. His curiosity ranged from music to theology and from philosophy to history. He didn't simply know something…” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f46/h-l-mencken-245_absolutely-nothing_by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-h_5368.jpg)
