Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
EnglishItalianoPolskiעבריתFrançaisPortuguêsفارسیEspañol中文РусскийDeutschالعربيةहिन्दी日本語ΕλληνικάLatina
Samuel Johnson
363 quotes
“An age that melts in unperceiv'd decay, And glides in modest innocence away.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Superfluous lags the vet'ran on the stage.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fears of the brave, and follies of the wise! From Marlb'rough's eyes the streams of dotage flow, And Swift expires, a driv'ler and a show.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Must helpless man, in ignorance sedate, Roll darkling down the torrent of his fate?”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For patience, sov'reign o'er transmuted ill.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“With these celestial Wisdom calms the mind, And makes the happiness she does not find.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Men more frequently require to be reminded than informed.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1750 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 2 (24 March 1750)
“A transition from an author's book to his conversation, is too often like an entrance into a large city, after a distant prospect. Remotely, we see nothing but spires of temples and turrets of palaces, and imagine it the residence of splendour, grandeur and magnificence; but when we have passed the gates, we find it perplexed with narrow passages, disgraced with despicable cottages, embarrassed with obstructions, and clouded with smoke.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1750 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 14 (5 May 1750)
“The student who would build his knowledge on solid foundations, and proceed by just degrees to the pinnacles of truth, is directed by the great philosopher of France to begin by doubting of his own existence. In like manner, whoever would complete any arduous and intricate enterprise, should, as soon as his imagination can cool after the first blaze of hope, place before his own eyes every possible embarrassment that may retard or defeat him. He should first question the probability of success, and then endeavour to remove the objections that he has raised.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1750 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 43 (14 August 1750)
“He that would pass the latter part of life with honour and decency, must, when he is young, consider that he shall one day be old; and remember, when he is old, that he has once been young.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1750 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 50 (8 September 1750); often misattributed to Joseph Addison
Also quoted by: Joseph Addison (misattributed)
“Frugality may be termed the daughter of Prudence, the sister of Temperance and the parent of Liberty.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1750 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 57 (2 October 1750)
“Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries of poverty, of sickness, or captivity, would, without this comfort, be insupportable; nor does it appear that the happiest lot of terrestrial existence can set us above the want of this general blessing; or that life, when the gifts of nature and of fortune are accumulated upon it, would not still be wretched, were it not elevated and delighted by the expectation of some new possession, of some enjoyment yet behind, by which the wish shall at last be satisfied, and the heart filled up to its utmost extent.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1750 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 67 (6 November 1750)
“To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labour tends, and of which every desire prompts the prosecution.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1750 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 68 (10 November 1750)
“As it is necessary not to invite robbery by supineness, so it is our duty not to suppress tenderness by suspicion; it is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1750 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 79 (18 December 1750)
“There are, in every age, new errors to be rectified, and new prejudices to be opposed.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 86 (12 January 1751)
“To convince any man against his will is hard, but to please him against his will is justly pronounced by Dryden to be above the reach of human abilities.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 96 (16 February 1751)
“Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 103 (12 March 1751)
“No man is much pleased with a companion, who does not increase, in some respect, his fondness for himself.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 104 (16 March 1751)
“No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a public library.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 106 (23 March 1751)
“Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those whom we cannot resemble.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 135 (2 July 1751)
“No oppression is so heavy or lasting as that which is inflicted by the perversion and exorbitance of legal authority.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 148 (17 August 1751)
Also quoted by: Joseph Addison (misattributed)
“That he delights in the misery of others no man will confess, and yet what other motive can make a father cruel?”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 148 (17 August 1751)
Also quoted by: Joseph Addison (misattributed)
“The unjustifiable severity of a parent is loaded with this aggravation, that those whom he injures are always in his sight.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 148 (17 August 1751)
Also quoted by: Joseph Addison (misattributed)
“Avarice is generally the last passion of those lives of which the first part has been squandered in pleasure, and the second devoted to ambition.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 151 (27 August 1751).
“But the truth is, that no man is much regarded by the rest of the world, except where the interest of others is involved in his fortune. The common employments or pleasures of life, love or opposition, loss or gain, keep almost every mind in perpetual agitation. If any man would consider how little he dwells upon the condition of others, he would learn how little the attention of others is attracted by himself.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1752, The Rambler, Issue date: 24 September 1751, Number 159
“Every man is rich or poor according to the proportion between his desires and his enjoyments; any enlargement of wishes is therefore equally destructive to happiness with the diminution of possession, and he that teaches another to long for what he never shall obtain is no less an enemy to his quiet than if he had robbed him of part of his patrimony.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 163 (8 October 1751)
“But, perhaps, the excellence of aphorisms consists not so much in the expression of some rare or abstruse sentiment, as in the comprehension of some obvious and useful truth in few words.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 175 (19 November 1751)
“The future is purchased by the present.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 178 (30 November 1751)
“I am not yet so lost in lexicography, as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven. Language is only the instrument of science, and words are but the signs of ideas: I wish, however, that the instrument might be less apt to decay, and that signs might be permanent, like the things which they denote.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every quotation contributes something to the stability or enlargement of the language.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“CLUB — An assembly of good fellows, meeting under certain conditions.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“ESSAY — A loose sally of the mind; an irregular indigested piece; not a regular and orderly composition.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“EXCISE — A hateful tax levied upon commodities, and adjudged not by the common judges of property, but wretches hired by those to whom excise is paid.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“GRUBSTREET — The name of a street near Moorsfield, London, much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“LEXICOGRAPHER — A writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“NETWORK — Any thing reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“OATS — A grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“PATRON — One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is repaid in flattery.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“PENSION — An allowance made to any one without an equivalent. In England it is generally understood to mean pay given to a state hireling for treason to his country.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“REVENGE — An act of passion; vengeance of justice.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather; they are in haste to tell each other, what each must already know, that it is hot or cold, bright or cloudy, windy or calm.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1758 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 11 (24 June 1758)
“Slavery is now no where more patiently endured, than in countries once inhabited by the zealots of liberty.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1758 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 11 (24 June 1758)
“Among the calamities of war may be justly numbered the diminution of the love of truth, by the falsehoods which interest dictates and credulity encourages.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1758 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 30 (11 November 1758)
“I know not whether more is to be dreaded from streets filled with soldiers accustomed to plunder, or from garrets filled with scribblers accustomed to lies.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1758 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 30 (11 November 1758)
“The joy of life is variety; the tenderest love requires to be renewed by intervals of absence.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1759 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 39 (13 January 1759)
“Advertisements are now so numerous that they are very negligently perused, and it is, therefore, become necessary to gain attention by magnificence of promises, and by eloquence sometimes sublime and sometimes pathetick. Promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1759 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 40 (20 January 1759)
“He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1759 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 57 (19 May 1759)
“Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought. Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks. The flowers which scatter their odours from time to time in the paths of life, grow up without culture from seeds scattered by chance. Nothing is more hopeless than a scheme of merriment.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1759 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 58 (26 May 1759)
“Merriment is always the effect of a sudden impression. The jest which is expected is already destroyed.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1759 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 58 (26 May 1759)