--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is such a difference between the…" description: "\"There is such a difference between the pursuits of men in great cities that one part of the inhabitants lives to little other purpose than to wonder at..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/samuel-johnson-50_aversion_there-is-such-a-difference-between-the-p_3178889.jpg" --- # There is such a difference between the pursuits of men in… ![“There is such a difference between the pursuits of men in great cities that one part of the inhabitants lives to little other purpose than to wonder at the rest. Some have hopes and fears, wishes and aversions, which never enter into the thoughts of others, and inquiry is laboriously exerted to…” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/samuel-johnson-50_aversion_there-is-such-a-difference-between-the-p_3178889.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/samuel-johnson-50_aversion_there-is-such-a-difference-between-the-p_3178889.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/samuel-johnson-50_aversion_there-is-such-a-difference-between-the-p_3178889.jpg) > “There is such a difference between the pursuits of men in great cities that one part of the inhabitants lives to little other purpose than to wonder at the rest. Some have hopes and fears, wishes and aversions, which never enter into the thoughts of others, and inquiry is laboriously exerted to gain that which those who possess it are ready to throw away.” [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. People in cities pursue varied goals, yet many are preoccupied with others' lives, ignoring deeper aspirations. **In simple terms:** City dwellers often focus on others rather than their own goals. Key Takeaway Shift focus to personal aspirations. Themes city life distraction aspiration Mood reflective critical Type sociological motivational When to use this quote - social media - urban planning - career development - personal growth Key Concepts sociology psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How often do you compare yourself to others? - What deeper goals are you neglecting? A Different Perspective The quote assumes uniform indifference, which may not hold for all. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Cities Inhabitants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities-inhabitants-5816904/) [Difference Pursuits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difference-pursuits-5816905/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Gains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gains/) [Great cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-cities/) [Having hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-hope/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hopes and fears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopes-and-fears/) [Inhabitants Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inhabitants-lives-5816906/) [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Pursuits Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuits-men-4355791/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wishes Aversions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishes-aversions-5816907/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [In all pursuits men complain of failure when they have not attained the measure of success they proposed to themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-tomlinson/in-all-pursuits-men-complain-of-failure-when-they-have-not-attained/) [Charles Tomlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-tomlinson/) > [They who have already enjoyed the crowds and noise of the great city, know their desire to return is little more than the restlessness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/they-who-have-already-enjoyed-the-crowds-and-noise-of-the-great-city/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [No wise man will go to live in the country, unless he has something to do which can be better done in the country.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-wise-man-will-go-to-live-in-the-country-unless-he-has-something-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Those who have past much of their lives in this great city, look upon its opulence and its multitudes, its extent and variety, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/those-who-have-past-much-of-their-lives-in-this-great-city-look-upon/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Not in this specific form. But all great cities are inhabited by ghosts. A book of this kind could probably be written about Jakarta,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/not-in-this-specific-form-but-all-great-cities-are-inhabited-by/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“For all the allure of speciously stress-free suburbs, for all the grinding of city life, cities endure. And when all those diverse energies are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-bartlett-giamatti/for-all-the-allure-of-speciously-stress-free-suburbs-for-all-the/) [A. Bartlett Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-bartlett-giamatti/) > [In the great cities we see so little of the world, we drift into our minority. In the little towns and villages there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/in-the-great-cities-we-see-so-little-of-the-world-we-drift-into-our/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [New York has a trip-hammer vitality which drives you insane with restlessness if you have no inner stabilizer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/new-york-has-a-trip-hammer-vitality-which-drives-you-insane-with/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The spirit of rebellion is present in every great city, and the great task of wise government is to keep it dormant, for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/the-spirit-of-rebellion-is-present-in-every-great-city-and-the-great/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [There is no place like it, no place with an atom of its glory, pride, and exultancy. It lays its hand upon a man's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/there-is-no-place-like-it-no-place-with-an-atom-of-its-glory-pride/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [New York now leads the world's great cities in the number of people around whom you shouldn't make a sudden move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/new-york-now-leads-the-world-s-great-cities-in-the-number-of-people/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [If we’re going to talk about transport, I would say that the great city is not the one that has highways, but one where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrique-penalosa/if-we-re-going-to-talk-about-transport-i-would-say-that-the-great/) [Enrique Penalosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrique-penalosa/) > [There are natures that go to the streams of life in great cities as the hart goes to the water brooks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gilbert-hamerton/there-are-natures-that-go-to-the-streams-of-life-in-great-cities-as/) [Philip Gilbert Hamerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gilbert-hamerton/) > [Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet. Then all things are at risk. It is as when a conflagration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/beware-when-the-great-god-lets-loose-a-thinker-on-this-planet-then/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [We're competing against other great cities: Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. That's why it's important that we all join together on the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-daley/we-re-competing-against-other-great-cities-madrid-rio-de-janeiro-and/) [Richard M. Daley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-daley/) ## 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 Aversion quotes > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The scorn men express for a male who does housework is exceeded only by their aversion to a woman who doesn't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-kome/the-scorn-men-express-for-a-male-who-does-housework-is-exceeded-only/) [Penny Kome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-kome/) > [One of the greatest inhibitions to the development of human potential is the aversion to effective practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-b-reeves/one-of-the-greatest-inhibitions-to-the-development-of-human-potential/) [Douglas B. Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-b-reeves/) > [Value investing is risk aversion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-risk-aversion/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [We must each learn to feel comfortable in our own uniqueness by rising above the fear of being wrong and the aversion to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/we-must-each-learn-to-feel-comfortable-in-our-own-uniqueness-by/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [The unattractive thing about chauvinism is not so much the aversion to other nations as the love of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-unattractive-thing-about-chauvinism-is-not-so-much-the-aversion/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Most people have an aversion to risk, my college economics professor told me. Which means they have to be rewarded to take on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/most-people-have-an-aversion-to-risk-my-college-economics-professor/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Some people have a very strange idea that material success does not coincide harmoniously with self-realization, which is absurd. The aversion to material success,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/some-people-have-a-very-strange-idea-that-material-success-does-not/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Usually I just let my songs do the talking. As a matter of fact I have long had an aversion to celebrities endorsing politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fogerty/usually-i-just-let-my-songs-do-the-talking-as-a-matter-of-fact-i-have/) [John Fogerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fogerty/) > [Once we're willing to confront our emotional suffering, we begin making choices based on attraction instead of aversion, love instead of fear. Where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/once-we-re-willing-to-confront-our-emotional-suffering-we-begin/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [It is a happy thing that time quells the longings of vengeance and hushes the promptings of rage and aversion. I had left this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-is-a-happy-thing-that-time-quells-the-longings-of-vengeance-and/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“For a long time now a hint of aversion had lain on everything he did and experienced, a shadow of impotence and loneliness, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/for-a-long-time-now-a-hint-of-aversion-had-lain-on-everything-he-did/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [In Tantric Buddhism our feeling is that there is no problem with the sensual world unless you have a tremendous attraction or aversion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-tantric-buddhism-our-feeling-is-that-there-is-no-problem-with-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Browse all 266 Aversion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is such a difference between the pursuits of men in great cities that one part of the inhabitants lives to little other purpose than to wonder at the rest. Some have hopes and fears, wishes and aversions, which never enter into the thoughts of others, and inquiry is laboriously exerted to gain that which those who possess it are ready to throw away.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-such-a-difference-between-the-pursuits-of-men-in-great/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aversion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-such-a-difference-between-the-pursuits-of-men-in-great/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/samuel-johnson-50_aversion_there-is-such-a-difference-between-the-p_3178889.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/samuel-johnson-50_aversion_there-is-such-a-difference-between-the-p_3178889.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/samuel-johnson-50_aversion_there-is-such-a-difference-between-the-p_3178889.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is such a difference between the pursuits of men in great cities that one part of the inhabitants…” — 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": "There is such a difference between...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-such-a-difference-between-the-pursuits-of-men-in-great/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-such-a-difference-between-the-pursuits-of-men-in-great/#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 } } ] } ```