If a madman were to come into this room with a stick in his hand, no doubt we should pity the state of his mind; but our primary consideration would be to take care of ourselves. We should knock him down first, and pity him afterwards.
Samuel Johnson
Related they are only full of pity for the young killer, because of his youth. Why should they not execute h... AGATHA CHRISTIE A man may acquire a taste for wine or brandy, and so lose his love for water, but should we not pity... HENRY DAVID THOREAU You may fancy the Lord had His own power to fall back upon. But that would have been to Him just the... GEORGE MACDONALD Without Khomeini, we would not be where we are. What a pity that, when pregnant with him, his mother... ORIANA FALLACI Allu Arjun is one of the most stylish actors. We should take care of our looks when acting with him ... SAMANTHA RUTH PRABHU To be loved at first sight, a man should have at the same time something to respect and something to... STENDHAL I had been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, ... But what confidence should we have in h... BENNIE THOMPSON Pity is not natural to man. Children and savages are always cruel. Pity is acquired and improved by ... SAMUEL JOHNSON We didn't think we should be the ones to tell him. We didn't lie to him, but we thought his parents ... BILL SUMMEE What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!' Pity? It was Pit... J.R.R. TOLKIEN What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!’ ‘Pity? It was Pit... J.R.R. TOLKIEN Voter apathy is a civic abdication. CHARLES M. BLOW Poor, unhappy Erik! Shall we pity him? Shall we curse him? He asked only to be 'someone,' like every... GASTON LEROUX I once read about a guy who lost his arms in a fire. The nurse took pity on him and gave him a hand ... AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS I glimpsed the man's face with the shine of death on it. They laid him down there in the open. They ... BARRY UNSWORTH If a man carries his horse out of a slave State into a free one, be does not lose his property inter... BENJAMIN F. WADE Poor, unhappy Erik! Shall we pity him? Shall we curse him? He asked only to be 'some one,' like ever... GASTON LEROUX Commemoration of George Augustus Selwyn, first Bishop of New Zealand, 1878 If there were a righte... LESSLIE NEWBIGIN If we're honest with ourselves, most of us know the one thing we lack. CRAIG GROESCHEL You went through the primary. You should have made such a decision before the primary. You were chos... ERIC THODE Nor do we find him forward to be sounded,
But with a crafty madness keeps aloof
When we would ... WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE This should be a great game. Two great teams, two great sets of supporters ... it's a pity we're pla... FERNANDO COUTO I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivin... MARK TWAIN We don't expect him to fall off because he's not a guy that relies on throwing really hard. We signe... DAVE DOMBROWSKI Caution has its place, no doubt, but we cannot refuse our support to a serious venture which challen... CARL GUSTAV JUNG Just pity him, my boy. Tomorrow we'll be on our way, but he'll have to keep his own disagreeable com... PATRICK ROTHFUSS We shadowed Sherry a little. We made him work to get all of his shots. We gave him some clean looks ... COREY GADSON This is unfortunate, but with his attitude, this should be no big deal. We all just want him to get ... HANK BLALOCK Jamie felt a strong desire to go across and see what the open books were, to go to the shelves and r... DIANA GABALDON J.P. has a great upside. He's got three things going for him, his athleticism, his work ethic, and h... BOBBY APRIL If a man is tongue-tied, don't laugh at him, but, rather, feel pity for him, as you would for a man ... ABRAHAM CAHAN It's like saying to a drowning man: What a pity, what a pity! If you had only let me teach you how t... HENRY MILLER We had no competition in pool play, and then we went up against a good team that was playing well. I... CHRIS GRAY We have to be patient with him and take into consideration how long he's been out. MIKE HARGROVE If you think of a composer when he sits down to write, it's just him and a piece of paper. This take... MATTHIAS GOHL We see that our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ. We should therefore ta... JOHN CALVIN If you pity his loneliness, be his company... PHILIP T. M. But when once Christ had called him, Peter had no alternative he must leave the ship and come to Him... DIETRICH BONHOEFFER Far from seeking to justify, as does the Church, the necessity of torments and afflictio... JORIS-KARL HUYSMANS We took care of each other in life ... he protected his sisters and we'll take care of each other in... HEATHER KUNKLE The kid would like to come over, but we haven't gotten into any talks with his team. There' a buyout... ED STEFANSKI I knew this is really challenging for him not playing, but if we ever needed him there was never a d... ALAIN VIGNEAULT As followers of Christ, we are to be careful not to remain victims of the many cultural presuppositi... CRISS JAMI However, anyone to whom this happens should not leave his room upon awakening, should speak to no-on... PARACELSUS Once or twice, in the first days of his marriage, he had asked himself with a slight shiver what wou... EDITH WHARTON And therefore I looked down into the great pity of a person’s life on this earth. I don’t mean t... DENIS JOHNSON I'm a Vermonter. I live in Vermont. We have to take care of our own people. We have to figure out ho... DAN BRUSH The American soldiers were brave, but courage is not enough. David did not kill Goliath just because... VO NGUYEN GIAP We came this far with him, there's no point in giving up now. This would be big for him, to give to ... KYLE KANNENBERG We did a much better job of contesting his shots. He did a really good job at creating space and was... CLIFFORD ROBINSON Every one's got it in him, if he'll only make up his mind and stick at it. None of us is born with a... CHARLES M. SCHWAB If it should turn out that we have mishandled our own lives as several civilizations before us have ... LOREN EISELEY And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in ... BIBLE If a man is tongue-tied, don't laugh at him, but, rather, feel pity for him, as you would for a ... ABRAHAM CAHAN You should be nicer to him,' a schoolmate had once said to me of some awfully ill-favored boy. 'He h... CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS I think he's on the right track in trying to see that Florida becomes a cutting edge state, ... We h... BERNARD SIEGEL If we do that, we're setting ourselves up for something a whole lot worse. We need to make sure that... JAMES EDWARDS The real purpose of education in a person’s life should be able to make him transform his envy int... VIKRANT PARSAI You can deny him, he thought, watching his father across the table. You can hate him, love him, pity... BEN FOUNTAIN We are currently looking for him and we have approached Interpol member countries to be on the looko... WAYNE BVUDZIJENA Obviously we would expect the head of state to be a supporter of the state. I don't think there shou... STEPHEN HARPER Samuel said he didn't want to continue but we wanted to convince him that he should not let them (th... CARLES PUYOL Saddam's fate should be in the hands of his country men. They were the major victims of his brut... RONNIE JAMES DIO Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hol... HENRY WARD BEECHER We do see him as a future third baseman. In my mind, and this is strictly my mind, I'd like to see h... BILL LAJOIE If we called him up it's because he is capable of playing. We did not want to rest him for the first... JO MASO A baby is born into this world in a state of fear. Total paranoia and awareness. He sees the world w... CHARLES MANSON There is but one love of Jesus, as there is but one person in the poor -- Jesus. We take vows of cha... MOTHER THERESA Trust [the student] in a certain degree with himself. Suffer him in some instances to select his own... WILLIAM GODWIN The High Sheikh invoked a few passages from the Greater Book, explaining that if a believer were to ... BASMA ABDEL AZIZ Through Christ we have a new identity--we should not be speaking to our old man, the sinner, and giv... ERIC SAMUEL TIMM We liked him as a defensive end coming out. He played linebacker in Pittsburgh and we asked him if h... ANDY REID 35. God is entitled to a portion of our income—not because He needs it but because we need to give... JAMES C. DOBSON ... so our customary practice of prayer was brought to mind: how through our ignorance and inexperie... JULIAN OF NORWICH We should always remember that it is by His invitation that we come to His holy house, the temple of... L. LIONEL KENDRICK Here's a very, very wise person, and we should get more of his wisdom out into the world while we st... ED DELANEY The role we can play every day, if we try, is to take the whole experience of every day and shape it... JOHN HAY WHITNEY We were so impressed with him, with his sincerity, his compassion and especially his passion for hea... CAROL COX No matter his death, he should be sentenced. His family should not be able to see him even dead in t... FERDONE QERKEZI There was nothing truthful about his testimony. And there was nothing to corroborate his story. We t... SUZAN SZOLLAR We have enough people with substance abuse problems in our county. They should take care of them fir... CHARLOTTE RAUP Mandell is a fine scorer. This may be the only time we could come into his gym and hold him to less ... DENNIS DEXTRAUDER I look for him to have a monster year. There are a lot of things going his way. He's going into his ... BUTCH WYNEGAR But miserable most, to love unloved? This you should pity rather than despise. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE I don't think a lot of the guys from the Midwest and the West Coast really know what to make of him ... ANTHONY FASANO I know, brother, that you are a straightforward man, and that you pride yourself on it. But put one ... MILAN KUNDERA A man's first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart, and his next to escape the ce... JOSEPH ADDISON We lost the man in body but we didn't lose him in spirit. So I'm relying on his spirit to take care ... TOM WATSON Feast of François de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, Teacher, 1622 A really patient man neither ... FRANÇOIS DE SALES If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left... SAMUEL JOHNSON It's not inconceivable, but we did put ourselves behind the eight ball a little bit. We have to take... MARCUS KNOTT As long as you need Uncle Sam, you have to listen to him and you have to take into consideration his... AKIVA ELDAR The answer isn't more time but a greater awareness of the time we have. CRAIG GROESCHEL And if we are in this state, if we had an eternity of probation, what reason have we to suppose that... ELIAS HICKS If we reason, we would be understood; if we imagine, we would that the airy children of our brain we... PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY Thus, if there is anyone who is confident that he can advise me as to the best advantage of the stat... LIVY Samuel has shown his class at this event. Every time we play with him, we know he is going to make s... RIGOBERT SONG Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to... KATHERINE MANSFIELD If they send him back to Mexico, who's going to take care of them and me? This is the United States.... JENNIFER GARCIA All who call the Holy Ghost a creature we pity, on the ground that, by this utterance, they are fall... SAINT BASIL
More Samuel Johnson
He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own... SAMUEL JOHNSON No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship i... SAMUEL JOHNSON Love is only one of many passions. SAMUEL JOHNSON My dear friend, clear your mind of cant. SAMUEL JOHNSON The world is like a grand staircase, some are going up and some are going down. SAMUEL JOHNSON The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. SAMUEL JOHNSON No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of spring. SAMUEL JOHNSON Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings. SAMUEL JOHNSON Bounty always receives part of its value from the manner in which it is bestowed. SAMUEL JOHNSON Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wo... SAMUEL JOHNSON It is very natural for young men to be vehement, acrimonious and severe. For as they seldom comprehe... SAMUEL JOHNSON Among the calamities of war, may be justly numbered the diminution of the love of truth, by the fals... SAMUEL JOHNSON He who praises every body, praises nobody. SAMUEL JOHNSON The mind is never satisfied with the objects immediately before it, but is always breaking away from... SAMUEL JOHNSON A gentleman who had been very unhappy in marriage, married immediately after his wife died: Johnson ... SAMUEL JOHNSON He that will enjoy the brightness of sunshine, must quit the coolness of the shade. SAMUEL JOHNSON Gloomy calm of idle vacancy. SAMUEL JOHNSON Ignorance, madam, pure ignorance. SAMUEL JOHNSON When any calamity has been suffered the first thing to be remembered is, how much has been escaped. SAMUEL JOHNSON No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money. SAMUEL JOHNSON Do not discourage your children from hoarding, if they have a taste to it; whoever lays up his penny... SAMUEL JOHNSON Whatever you have spend less. SAMUEL JOHNSON There are few ways in which a man can be more innocently employed than in getting money. SAMUEL JOHNSON What is twice read is commonly better remembered that what is
transcribed. SAMUEL JOHNSON A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he
reads as a task will do him little g... SAMUEL JOHNSON Books have always a secret influence on the understanding; we
cannot at pleasure obliterate ideas: ... SAMUEL JOHNSON The habit of looking on the bright side of every event is worth more than a thousand pounds a year. SAMUEL JOHNSON Politics are now nothing more than means of rising in the world. With this sole view do men engage i... SAMUEL JOHNSON Wickedness is always easier than virtue, for it takes a short cut to everything. SAMUEL JOHNSON By taking a second wife he pays the highest compliment to the first, by showing that she made him so... SAMUEL JOHNSON It is not from reason and prudence that people marry, but from inclination. SAMUEL JOHNSON Marriage is the best state for man in general, and every man is a worst man in proportion to the lev... SAMUEL JOHNSON A man is in general better pleased when he has a good dinner upon his table, than when his wife talk... SAMUEL JOHNSON Books that you carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are most useful after all. SAMUEL JOHNSON A man ought to read just as his inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him littl... SAMUEL JOHNSON He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and... SAMUEL JOHNSON The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together; nature and art are ransacked for illust... SAMUEL JOHNSON We are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats, but the
potentiality of growing rich beyond t... SAMUEL JOHNSON This merriment of parsons is mighty offensive. SAMUEL JOHNSON He that embarks on the voyage of life will always wish to advance rather by the impulse of the wind ... SAMUEL JOHNSON Never, my dear Sir, do you take it into your head that I do not love you; you may settle yourself in... SAMUEL JOHNSON The endearing elegance of female friendship. SAMUEL JOHNSON To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to thr... SAMUEL JOHNSON The most fatal disease of friendship is gradual decay, or dislike hourly increased by causes too sle... SAMUEL JOHNSON Friendship, 'the wine of life,' said Boswell, should, like a well-stocked cellar, be thus continuall... SAMUEL JOHNSON To be idle and to be poor have always been reproaches, and therefore every man endeavors with his ut... SAMUEL JOHNSON It is wonderful when a calculation is made, how little the mind is actually employed in the discharg... SAMUEL JOHNSON The next best thing to knowing something is knowing where to find it. SAMUEL JOHNSON I will be conquered; I will not capitulate. SAMUEL JOHNSON The law is the last result of human wisdom acting upon human experience for the benefit of the publi... SAMUEL JOHNSON "He was a very good hater." SAMUEL JOHNSON I like a good hater. SAMUEL JOHNSON We are long before we are convinced that happiness is never to be found, and each believes it posse... SAMUEL JOHNSON Read your own compositions, and when you meet a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike... SAMUEL JOHNSON Composition is, for the most part, an effort of slow diligence and steady perseverance, to which the... SAMUEL JOHNSON I know not, Madam, that you have a right, upon moral principles, to make your readers suffer so much... SAMUEL JOHNSON In all pointed sentences, some degree of accuracy must be sacrificed to conciseness. SAMUEL JOHNSON The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over ha... SAMUEL JOHNSON Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious... SAMUEL JOHNSON If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left... SAMUEL JOHNSON Language is the only instrument of science, and words are but the
signs of ideas. SAMUEL JOHNSON Language is only the instrument of science, and words are but the signs of ideas. SAMUEL JOHNSON Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime; it is not to be purc... SAMUEL JOHNSON My congratulations to you, sir. Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good... SAMUEL JOHNSON Pride is seldom delicate; it will please itself with very mean advantages. SAMUEL JOHNSON Prejudice not being funded on reason cannot be removed by argument. SAMUEL JOHNSON The applause of a single human being is of great consequence. SAMUEL JOHNSON He who praises everybody, praises nobody. SAMUEL JOHNSON The real satisfaction which praise can afford, is when what is repeated aloud agrees with the whispe... SAMUEL JOHNSON A continual feast of commendation is only to be obtained by merit or by wealth: many are therefore o... SAMUEL JOHNSON Hunger is never delicate; they who are seldom gorged to the full with praise may be safely fed with ... SAMUEL JOHNSON I would rather be attacked than unnoticed. For the worst thing you can do to an author is to be sile... SAMUEL JOHNSON Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea. SAMUEL JOHNSON No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship i... SAMUEL JOHNSON There are few things that we so unwillingly give up, even in advanced age, as the supposition that w... SAMUEL JOHNSON Men know that women are an over-match for them, and therefore they choose the weakest or most ignora... SAMUEL JOHNSON The true art of memory is the art of attention. SAMUEL JOHNSON What is read twice is usually remembered more than what is once written. SAMUEL JOHNSON The Irish are a fair people: They never speak well of one another. SAMUEL JOHNSON The noblest prospect which a Scotchman ever sees is the high road that leads him to England. SAMUEL JOHNSON Much may be made of a Scotchman, if he be caught young. SAMUEL JOHNSON Difficult do you call it, Sir? I wish it were impossible. SAMUEL JOHNSON It is the only sensual pleasure without vice. SAMUEL JOHNSON That fellow seems to me to possess but one idea, and that is a wrong one. SAMUEL JOHNSON There are few minds to which tyranny is not delightful. SAMUEL JOHNSON The majority have no other reason for their opinions than that they are the fashion. SAMUEL JOHNSON Ah! Sir, a boy's being flogged is not so severe as a man's having the hiss of the world against him. SAMUEL JOHNSON It is the great privilege of poverty to be happy and yet unenvied, to be healthy with physic, secure... SAMUEL JOHNSON Nature makes us poor only when we want necessaries, but custom gives the name of poverty to the want... SAMUEL JOHNSON This mournful truth is everywhere confessed, slow rises worth by poverty depressed. SAMUEL JOHNSON Poverty is often concealed in splendor, and often in extravagance. It is the task of many people to ... SAMUEL JOHNSON Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; ... SAMUEL JOHNSON If pleasure was not followed by pain, who would forbear it? SAMUEL JOHNSON No man is a hypocrite in his pleasures. SAMUEL JOHNSON Many things difficult in design prove easy in performance. SAMUEL JOHNSON If he really thinks there is no distinction between vice and virtue, when he leaves our houses let u... SAMUEL JOHNSON The usual fortune of complaint is to excite contempt more than pity. SAMUEL JOHNSON Depend upon it that if a man talks of his misfortunes there is something in them that is not disagre... SAMUEL JOHNSON If I have said something to hurt a man once, I shall not get the better of this by saying many thing... SAMUEL JOHNSON Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but per... SAMUEL JOHNSON Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance. SAMUEL JOHNSON Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. SAMUEL JOHNSON In all evils which admits a remedy, impatience should be avoided, because it wastes the time and att... SAMUEL JOHNSON Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dr... SAMUEL JOHNSON If a man could say nothing against a character but what he can prove, history could not be written. SAMUEL JOHNSON Your manuscript is both good and original; but the parts that are good are not original, and the par... SAMUEL JOHNSON I found you essay to be good and original. However, the part that was original was not good and the ... SAMUEL JOHNSON Sir, he was dull in company, dull in his closet, dull everywhere. He was dull in a new way, and that... SAMUEL JOHNSON Sir, a man may be so much of everything, that he is nothing of anything. SAMUEL JOHNSON He who has provoked the shaft of wit, cannot complain that he smarts from it. SAMUEL JOHNSON Nobody can write the life of a man but those who have eat and drunk and lived in social intercourse ... SAMUEL JOHNSON Their learning is like bread in a besieged town: every man gets a little, but no man gets a full mea... SAMUEL JOHNSON As peace is the end of war, so to be idle is the ultimate purpose of the busy. SAMUEL JOHNSON Perhaps man is the only being that can properly be called idle. SAMUEL JOHNSON Turn on the prudent ant thy heedful eyes. Observe her labors, sluggard, and be wise. SAMUEL JOHNSON Lawyers know life practically. A bookish man should always have them to converse with. SAMUEL JOHNSON I would be loath to speak ill of any person who I do not know deserves it, but I am afraid he is an ... SAMUEL JOHNSON What provokes your risibility, Sir? Have I said anything that you understand? Then I ask pardon of t... SAMUEL JOHNSON I am always sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigrees of nations. SAMUEL JOHNSON Language is only the instrument of science, and words are but the signs of ideas: I wish, however, t... SAMUEL JOHNSON The next best thing to knowing something is knowing where to find it. SAMUEL JOHNSON More knowledge may be gained of a man's real character by a short conversation with one of his serva... SAMUEL JOHNSON Man is not weak; knowledge is more than equivalent to force. SAMUEL JOHNSON Knowledge always demands increase; it is like fire, which must first be kindled by some external age... SAMUEL JOHNSON Knowledge is more than equivalent to force. SAMUEL JOHNSON All wonder is the effect of novelty on ignorance. SAMUEL JOHNSON Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upo... SAMUEL JOHNSON Sir, they are a race of convicts, and ought to be thankful for anything we allow them short of hangi... SAMUEL JOHNSON A man who exposes himself when he is intoxicated, has not the art of getting drunk. SAMUEL JOHNSON There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a... SAMUEL JOHNSON There are some sluggish men who are improved by drinking; as there are fruits that are not good unti... SAMUEL JOHNSON Sir, I have no objection to a man's drinking wine, if he can do it in moderation. I found myself apt... SAMUEL JOHNSON The advice that is wanted is commonly not welcome and that which is not wanted, evidently an effront... SAMUEL JOHNSON Disease generally begins that equality which death completes. SAMUEL JOHNSON The trade of advertising is now so near perfection that it is not easy to propose any improvement. B... SAMUEL JOHNSON Adversity is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially ... SAMUEL JOHNSON Players, Sir! I look on them as no better than creatures set upon tables and joint stools to make fa... SAMUEL JOHNSON Disappointment, when it involves neither shame nor loss, is as good as success; for it supplies as m... SAMUEL JOHNSON Every man who attacks my belief, diminishes in some degree my confidence in it, and therefore makes ... SAMUEL JOHNSON When speculation has done its worst, two and two still make four. SAMUEL JOHNSON Sir, I have found you an argument. I am not obliged to find you an understanding. SAMUEL JOHNSON No member of society has the right to teach any doctrine contrary to what society holds to be true. SAMUEL JOHNSON It seems not more reasonable to leave the right of printing unrestrained, because writers may be aft... SAMUEL JOHNSON Censure is willingly indulged, because it always implies some superiority: men please themselves wit... SAMUEL JOHNSON There is nothing so much seduces reason from vigilance as the thought of passing life with an amiabl... SAMUEL JOHNSON Bravery has no place where it can avail nothing. SAMUEL JOHNSON He that would be superior to external influences must first become superior to his own passions. SAMUEL JOHNSON Courage is a quality so necessary for maintaining virtue, that it is always respected, even when it ... SAMUEL JOHNSON Sir, you have but two topics, yourself and me. I am sick of both. SAMUEL JOHNSON Surely a long life must be somewhat tedious, since we are forced to call in so many trifling things ... SAMUEL JOHNSON There can be no friendship without confidence, and no confidence without integrity. SAMUEL JOHNSON It generally happens that assurance keeps an even pace with ability. SAMUEL JOHNSON When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully. SAMUEL JOHNSON Extended empires are like expanded gold, exchanging solid strength for feeble splendor. SAMUEL JOHNSON Those who attain to any excellence commonly spend life in some single pursuit, for excellence is not... SAMUEL JOHNSON Prepare for death, if here at night you roam, and sign your will before you sup from home. SAMUEL JOHNSON The happiest conversation is that of which nothing is distinctly remembered but a general effect of ... SAMUEL JOHNSON I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read. SAMUEL JOHNSON Christianity is the highest perfection of humanity. SAMUEL JOHNSON He who waits to do a great deal of good at once, will never do anything. SAMUEL JOHNSON You are much surer that you are doing good when you pay money to those who work, as the recompense o... SAMUEL JOHNSON A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization. SAMUEL JOHNSON Such is the state of life, that none are happy but by the anticipation of change: the change itself ... SAMUEL JOHNSON I am sorry I have not learnt to play at cards. It is very useful in life: it generates kindness, and... SAMUEL JOHNSON Self-love is often rather arrogant than blind; it does not hide our faults from ourselves, but persu... SAMUEL JOHNSON Were it not for imagination a man would be as happy in arms of a chambermaid as of a duchess. SAMUEL JOHNSON Is not a patron, my lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, an... SAMUEL JOHNSON Patron: One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, a... SAMUEL JOHNSON No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money. SAMUEL JOHNSON He that fails in his endeavors after wealth or power will not long retain either honesty or courage. SAMUEL JOHNSON To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and la... SAMUEL JOHNSON Truth, Sir, is a cow which will yield such people no more milk, and so they are gone to milk the bul... SAMUEL JOHNSON He that is already corrupt is naturally suspicious, and he that becomes suspicious will quickly beco... SAMUEL JOHNSON Suspicion is most often useless pain. SAMUEL JOHNSON Life is a progress from want to want, not from enjoyment to enjoyment. SAMUEL JOHNSON Some desire is necessary to keep life in motion, and he whose real wants are supplied must admit tho... SAMUEL JOHNSON I have always considered it as treason against the great republic of human nature, to make any man's... SAMUEL JOHNSON We are inclined to believe those whom we don not know because they have never deceived us. SAMUEL JOHNSON Small debts are like small gun shot; they are rattling around us on all sides and one can scarcely e... SAMUEL JOHNSON Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last. SAMUEL JOHNSON Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind. SAMUEL JOHNSON Criticism is a study by which men grow important and formidable at very small expense. He whom natur... SAMUEL JOHNSON Criticism, as it was first instituted by Aristotle, was meant as a standard of judging well. SAMUEL JOHNSON I would rather be attacked than unnoticed. For the worst thing you can do to an author is to be sile... SAMUEL JOHNSON He that pursues fame with just claims, trusts his happiness to the winds; but he that endeavors afte... SAMUEL JOHNSON To get a name can happen but to few; it is one of the few things that cannot be brought. It is the f... SAMUEL JOHNSON We love to expect, and when expectation is either disappointed or gratified, we want to be again exp... SAMUEL JOHNSON Few enterprises of great labor or hazard would be undertaken if we had not the power of magnifying t... SAMUEL JOHNSON I know not any thing more pleasant, or more instructive, than to compare experience with expectation... SAMUEL JOHNSON It is generally known, that he who expects much will be often disappointed; yet disappointment seldo... SAMUEL JOHNSON Hope is itself a species of happiness, and, perhaps, the chief happiness which this world affords: b... SAMUEL JOHNSON Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy. SAMUEL JOHNSON No two men can be half an hour together but one shall acquire an evident superiority over the other. SAMUEL JOHNSON Nothing is more common than mutual dislike, where mutual approbation is particularly expected. SAMUEL JOHNSON The chains of habit are generally too week to be felt, until they are too strong to be broken. SAMUEL JOHNSON The habit of looking on the best side of every event is worth more than a thousand pounds a years. SAMUEL JOHNSON While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates. You must wait till grief be digested, ... SAMUEL JOHNSON Where grief is fresh, any attempt to divert it only irritates. SAMUEL JOHNSON The superiority of some men is merely local. They are great because their associates are little. SAMUEL JOHNSON He was dull in a new way, and that made many think him great. SAMUEL JOHNSON