Samuel Johnson BiographyEngland Flag

Samuel Johnson, Author
Occup.Author
FromEngland
BornSeptember 18, 1709
DiedDecember 13, 1784
Aged75 years
Usually known as Dr. Johnson, is one of the most important literary figures of England: poet, essayist, biographer, lexicographer, is considered by many as the best literary critic in English. Johnson was possessed of great talent and a unique prose style.

Devout Anglican and politically conservative, Dr. Johnson has been described as "undoubtedly the most distinguished man of letters in English history".

Despite the high quality of his work and enormous celebrity in life, Johnson is primarily remembered for being the subject of "the most notable example of biographical art in English letters," namely, the biography written by his friend James Boswell, the Life of Samuel Johnson, which has been inextricably linked. Known for his brilliant conversation, and thanks to its many contemporary biographers are known many anecdotes of Dr. Johnson.

Likewise, his aphoristic style, its philosophy based primarily on common sense, and elegance in writing, have made ​​it the second most cited author in the English language after Shakespeare.

Our collection contains 151 quotes who is written / told by Samuel, under the main topics: Fitness - Marriage.

Related authors: Edward Young (Poet), Alexander Pope (Poet), William Hazlitt (Critic), James Boswell (Lawyer), Lord Chesterfield (Statesman), Philo (Philosopher), Joseph Wood Krutch (Environmentalist)

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151 Famous quotes by Samuel Johnson

Small: Samuel Johnson: When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life for there is in London all that life can af
"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford"
Small: Samuel Johnson: There is nothing, Sir, too little for so little a creature as man. It is by studying little th
"There is nothing, Sir, too little for so little a creature as man. It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible"
Small: Samuel Johnson: There are goods so opposed that we cannot seize both, but, by too much prudence, may pass betw
"There are goods so opposed that we cannot seize both, but, by too much prudence, may pass between them at too great a distance to reach either"
Small: Samuel Johnson: The mind is never satisfied with the objects immediately before it, but is always breaking awa
"The mind is never satisfied with the objects immediately before it, but is always breaking away from the present moment, and losing itself in schemes of future felicity... The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Nature has given women so much power that the law has very wisely given them little
"Nature has given women so much power that the law has very wisely given them little"
Small: Samuel Johnson: There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and
"There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain"
Small: Samuel Johnson: It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it las
"It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time"
Small: Samuel Johnson: He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but h
"He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world
"Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world"
Small: Samuel Johnson: You hesitate to stab me with a word, and know not - silence is the sharper sword
"You hesitate to stab me with a word, and know not - silence is the sharper sword"
Small: Samuel Johnson: What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence
"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence"
Small: Samuel Johnson: There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced a
"There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern"
Small: Samuel Johnson: No man was ever great by imitation
"No man was ever great by imitation"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Every man who attacks my belief, diminishes in some degree my confidence in it, and therefore
"Every man who attacks my belief, diminishes in some degree my confidence in it, and therefore makes me uneasy; and I am angry with him who makes me uneasy"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Disease generally begins that equality which death completes
"Disease generally begins that equality which death completes"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Depend upon it that if a man talks of his misfortunes there is something in them that is not d
"Depend upon it that if a man talks of his misfortunes there is something in them that is not disagreeable to him; for where there is nothing but pure misery there never is any recourse to the mention of it"
Small: Samuel Johnson: The happiest part of a mans life is what he passes lying awake in bed in the morning
"The happiest part of a man's life is what he passes lying awake in bed in the morning"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Power is not sufficient evidence of truth
"Power is not sufficient evidence of truth"
Small: Samuel Johnson: It is not true that people are naturally equal for no two people can be together for even a ha
"It is not true that people are naturally equal for no two people can be together for even a half an hour without one acquiring an evident superiority over the other"
Small: Samuel Johnson: It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open ones mouth and remove all doubt
"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open one's mouth and remove all doubt"
Small: Samuel Johnson: I had rather see the portrait of a dog that I know, than all the allegorical paintings they ca
"I had rather see the portrait of a dog that I know, than all the allegorical paintings they can show me in the world"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Read over your compositions, and when you meet a passage which you think is particularly fine,
"Read over your compositions, and when you meet a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Praise, like gold and diamonds, owes its value only to its scarcity
"Praise, like gold and diamonds, owes its value only to its scarcity"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Everything that enlarges the sphere of human powers, that shows man he can do what he thought
"Everything that enlarges the sphere of human powers, that shows man he can do what he thought he could not do, is valuable"
Small: Samuel Johnson: What makes all doctrines plain and clear? About two hundred pounds a year. And that which was
"What makes all doctrines plain and clear? About two hundred pounds a year. And that which was proved true before, prove false again? Two hundred more"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth
"Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth"
Small: Samuel Johnson: No money is better spent than what is laid out for domestic satisfaction
"No money is better spent than what is laid out for domestic satisfaction"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Every man is rich or poor according to the proportion between his desires and his enjoyments
"Every man is rich or poor according to the proportion between his desires and his enjoyments"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you havent courage, you may not have an opp
"Courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you haven't courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others"
Small: Samuel Johnson: To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise
"To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labor tends, and of which every desire prompts the prosecution"
Small: Samuel Johnson: There is, indeed, nothing that so much seduces reason from vigilance, as the thought of passin
"There is, indeed, nothing that so much seduces reason from vigilance, as the thought of passing life with an amiable woman"
Small: Samuel Johnson: There is no private house in which people can enjoy themselves so well as at a capital tavern.
"There is no private house in which people can enjoy themselves so well as at a capital tavern... No, Sir; there is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn"
Small: Samuel Johnson: I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read
"I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read"
Small: Samuel Johnson: I have always considered it as treason against the great republic of human nature, to make any
"I have always considered it as treason against the great republic of human nature, to make any man's virtues the means of deceiving him"
Small: Samuel Johnson: The true art of memory is the art of attention
"The true art of memory is the art of attention"
Small: Samuel Johnson: The return of my birthday, if I remember it, fills me with thoughts which it seems to be the g
"The return of my birthday, if I remember it, fills me with thoughts which it seems to be the general care of humanity to escape"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happi
"Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues impracticable, and others extremely difficult"
Small: Samuel Johnson: It is dangerous for mortal beauty, or terrestrial virtue, to be examined by too strong a light
"It is dangerous for mortal beauty, or terrestrial virtue, to be examined by too strong a light. The torch of Truth shows much that we cannot, and all that we would not, see"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement
"Promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement"
Small: Samuel Johnson: No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail for being in a s
"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... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company"
Small: Samuel Johnson: I have found men to be more kind than I expected, and less just
"I have found men to be more kind than I expected, and less just"
Small: Samuel Johnson: You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is t
"You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford"
Small: Samuel Johnson: You cannot spend money in luxury without doing good to the poor. Nay, you do more good to them
"You cannot spend money in luxury without doing good to the poor. Nay, you do more good to them by spending it in luxury, than by giving it; for by spending it in luxury, you make them exert industry, whereas by giving it, you keep them idle"
Small: Samuel Johnson: You cant be in politics unless you can walk in a room and know in a minute whos for you and wh
"You can't be in politics unless you can walk in a room and know in a minute who's for you and who's against you"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Worth seeing? Yes but not worth going to see
"Worth seeing? Yes; but not worth going to see"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Words are but the signs of ideas
"Words are but the signs of ideas"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor
"Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Wine makes a man more pleased with himself I do not say it makes him more pleasing to others
"Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say it makes him more pleasing to others"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Wine gives a man nothing... it only puts in motion what had been locked up in frost
"Wine gives a man nothing... it only puts in motion what had been locked up in frost"
Small: Samuel Johnson: Whoever thinks of going to bed before twelve oclock is a scoundrel
"Whoever thinks of going to bed before twelve o'clock is a scoundrel"
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