414 quotes
When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
Merriment is always the effect of a sudden impression. The jest which is expected is already destroyed.
The Idler (1758)
A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing.
The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (1785)
Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.
The Rambler (1750)
It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentional lying, that there is so much falsehood in the world.
A fly, Sir, may sting a stately horse and make him wince; but one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
Sir, I have found you an argument; but I am not obliged to find you an understanding.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read.
Attack is the reaction; I never think I have hit hard unless it rebounds.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.
Anecdotes of the Revd. Percival Stockdale (1809)
A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
Men more frequently require to be reminded than informed.
The Rambler (1750)
All this [wealth] excludes but one evil,—poverty.
Example is always more efficacious than precept.
The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759)
No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
Worth seeing? yes; but not worth going to see.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
He who praises everybody praises nobody.
Johnson's Works (1787)