Samuel Johnson

England
18 Sep 1709 // 13 Dec 1784
Writer

Quotes

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He that has once concluded it lawful to resist power, when he wants merit, will soon find a want of merit, to justify his resistance to power
Guilt once harbored in the conscious breast, intimidates the brave, degrades the great
Gratitude is a fruit of great cultivation; you do not find it among gross people
Friendship is not always the sequel of obligation
Faults and defects every work of man must have
Example is always more efficacious than precept
Evil is uncertain in the same degree as good, and for the reason that we ought not to hope too securely, we ought not to fear with too much dejection
Every man is, or hopes to be, an idler
Every man has some favorite topic of conversation, on which, by a feigned seriousness of attention, he may be drawn to expatiate without end
Distance either of time or place is sufficient to reconcile weak minds to wonderful relations
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays