--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A mere literary man is a dull man; a man…" description: "\"A mere literary man is a dull man; a man who is solely a man of business is a selfish man; but when literature and commerce are united, they make a res..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/samuel-johnson-50_books_a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man_2113073.jpg" --- # A mere literary man is a dull man; a man who is solely a… ![“A mere literary man is a dull man; a man who is solely a man of business is a selfish man; but when literature and commerce are united, they make a respectable man.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/samuel-johnson-50_books_a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man_2113073.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/samuel-johnson-50_books_a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man_2113073.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/samuel-johnson-50_books_a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man_2113073.jpg) > “A mere literary man is a dull man; a man who is solely a man of business is a selfish man; but when literature and commerce are united, they make a respectable man.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing art and commerce creates a respectable individual, avoiding the dullness of pure literature or selfishness of pure business. **In simple terms:** Combining literature and business yields respectability. Key Takeaway Cultivate both creative and practical skills. Themes respect selfishness balance Mood thoughtful balanced Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career development - entrepreneurship - creative industries - personal growth Key Concepts Humanism economics Questions to Reflect On - How can you integrate creativity into your work? - What value does commerce add to art? A Different Perspective Neglecting one side can lead to imbalance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Commerce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commerce/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Respectability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respectability/) [Respectable man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respectable-man/) [Selfish Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-man/) [Selfish men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-men/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“He is our man's-man of literature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-barger/he-is-our-man-s-man-of-literature/) [Andrew Barger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-barger/) > [Mere literary talent is common; what is rare is endurance, the continuing desire to work hard at writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-hall/mere-literary-talent-is-common-what-is-rare-is-endurance-the/) [Donald Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-hall/) > [Metaphor is not, and never has been, a mere literary term. It is an event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/metaphor-is-not-and-never-has-been-a-mere-literary-term-it-is-an-event/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [Doesn't all experience crumble in the end to mere literary material?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/doesn-t-all-experience-crumble-in-the-end-to-mere-literary-material/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [“I am probably a dull man. Emotionally I have had no complications. I was engaged to a pretty girl, a neighbor, when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-am-probably-a-dull-man-emotionally-i-have-had-no-complications-i/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“Anger will make a dull man witty, but very little money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i-tudor/anger-will-make-a-dull-man-witty-but-very-little-money/) Elizabeth I Tudor > [It is widely held that too much wine will dull a man's desire. Indeed it will...in a dull man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-widely-held-that-too-much-wine-will-dull-a-man-s-desire-indeed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Labour is good for a man, bracing up his energies to conquest, And without it life is dull, the man perceiving himself useless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/labour-is-good-for-a-man-bracing-up-his-energies-to-conquest-and/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [You have been second always. Tragical? No. You preferred it to the usual thing: One dull man, dulling and uxorious, One average mind- with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no-you-preferred-it-to-the-usual/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [It is the dull man who is always sure, and the sure man who is always dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-dull-man-who-is-always-sure-and-the-sure-man-who-is-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No man's brain is so dull, and no man's eye so blind, that they cannot catch food for dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-g-mitchell/no-man-s-brain-is-so-dull-and-no-man-s-eye-so-blind-that-they-cannot/) [Donald G. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-g-mitchell/) > [I'm actually a rather dull man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-allen/i-m-actually-a-rather-dull-man/) [Keith Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-allen/) > [Somehow love gives even to a dull man the knowledge of his lover's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hope/somehow-love-gives-even-to-a-dull-man-the-knowledge-of-his-lover-s/) [Anthony Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hope/) > [Only a very dull man spells a word the same way twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/only-a-very-dull-man-spells-a-word-the-same-way-twice/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The great man is not so great as folks think, and the dull man is not quite so stupid as he seems. The difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-great-man-is-not-so-great-as-folks-think-and-the-dull-man-is-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A mere literary man is a dull man; a man who is solely a man of business is a selfish man; but when literature and commerce are united, they make a respectable man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man-who-is-solely-a-man-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man-who-is-solely-a-man-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/samuel-johnson-50_books_a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man_2113073.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/samuel-johnson-50_books_a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man_2113073.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/samuel-johnson-50_books_a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man_2113073.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A mere literary man is a dull man; a man who is solely a man of business is a selfish man; but when…” — Samuel Johnson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A mere literary man is a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man-who-is-solely-a-man-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man-who-is-solely-a-man-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```