Samuel Johnson
England
18 Sep 1709 // 13 Dec 1784
Writer
18 Sep 1709 // 13 Dec 1784
Writer
Quotes
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While an author is yet living we estimate his powers by his worst performance, and when he is dead we rate them by his best
Where secrecy or mystery begins, vice or roguery is not far off
Where grief is fresh, any attempt to divert it only irritates
When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency
Whatever enlarges hope will also exalt courage
We consider ourselves as defective in memory, either because we remember less than we desire, or less than we suppose others to remember
We are all prompted by the same motives, all deceived by the same fallacies, all animated by hope, obstructed by danger, entangled by desire, and seduced by pleasure
We all live in the hope of pleasing somebody; and the pleasure of pleasing ought to be greatest, and always will be greatest, when our endeavors are exerted in consequence of our duty
Truth allows no choice
Treating your adversary with respect is giving him an advantage to which he is not entitled
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
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
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
Essays