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Quotes from The Spectator — Joseph Addison

1672–1719 England

← All quotes by Joseph Addison

70 quotes

That nothing is capable of being well set to Musick, that is not Nonsense.

The Spectator (1711)

There is nothing which we receive with so much reluctance as advice.

The Spectator (1711)

Of all the diversions of life, there is none so proper to fill up its empty spaces as the reading of useful and entertaining authors.

The Spectator (1711)

There is not so variable a thing in Nature as a lady's head-dress.

The Spectator (1711)

These widows, sir, are the most perverse creatures in the world.

The Spectator (1711)

An ostentatious man will rather relate a blunder or an absurdity he has committed, than be debarred from talking of his own dear person.

The Spectator (1711)

Modesty is not only an ornament, but also a guard to virtue.

The Spectator (1711)

To be exempt from the passions with which others are tormented, is the only pleasing solitude.

The Spectator (1711)

A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most real blessings or misfortunes.

The Spectator (1711)

When all thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I'm lost
In wonder, love and praise.

The Spectator (1711)

Death only closes a Man's Reputation, and determines it as good or bad.

The Spectator (1711)

There is not a more unhappy being than a superannuated idol.

The Spectator (1711)

Were not this desire of fame very strong, the difficulty of obtaining it, and the danger of losing it when obtained, would be sufficient to deter a man from so vain a pursuit.

The Spectator (1711)

We are always doing something for Posterity, but I would fain see Posterity do something for us.

The Spectator (1711)

Ambition raises a secret tumult in the soul, it inflames the mind, and puts it into a violent hurry of thought.

The Spectator (1711)

Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind, which are delivered down from generation to generation, as presents to the posterity of those who are yet unborn.

The Spectator (1711)

I would... earnestly advise them for their good to order this paper to be punctually served up, and to be looked upon as a part of the tea equipage.

The Spectator (1711)

I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs.

The Spectator (1711)

Animals in their generation are wiser than the sons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass.

The Spectator (1711)

Mere bashfulness without merit is awkward; and merit without modesty, insolent. But modest merit has a double claim to acceptance, and generally meets with as many patrons as beholders.

The Spectator (1711)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Joseph Addison (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.