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A thousand trills and quivering sounds
In airy circles o'er us fly,
Till, wafted by a gentle breeze,
They faint and languish by degrees,
And at a distance die.

— Joseph Addison Ode on St. Cecilia's Day (1699)

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More quotes by Joseph Addison

Keep up the loud harmonious song,
And imitate the blest above,
In joy, and harmony, and love.

Song for St. Cecilia's Day (1692)

If we may believe our logicians, man is distinguished from all other creatures by the faculty of laughter.

The Spectator (1711)

'Tis not in mortals to command success,
But we'll do more, Sempronius; we'll deserve it.

Cato, A Tragedy (1713)

We are growing serious, and,
Let me tell you, that's the very next step to being dull.

The Drummer (1716)

Thus I live in the world rather as a spectator of mankind than as one of the species.

The Spectator (1711)

All Joseph Addison quotes →

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Joseph Addison (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.