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Joseph Addison

Joseph Addison Quotes

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Famous Joseph Addison Quotes

“Men of warm imaginations and towering thoughts are apt to overlook the goods of fortune which are near them, for something that glitters in the sight at a distance; to neglect solid and substantial happiness for what is showy and superficial; and to contemn that good which lies within their reach, for that which they are not capable of attaining. Hope calculates its schemes for a long and durable life; presses forward to imaginary points of bliss; grasps at impossibilities; and consequently very often ensnares men into beggary, ruin, and dishonour.”

MenLongHappinessLyingImaginationCapableSightPressesDistanceFortuneWarmRuinsBlissGoodsNeglectImaginarySchemesSuperficialImpossibilityGlitterShowyDishonourBeggary
Book:The Works of Joseph Addison: The Spectator, no. 315-635
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“One hope no sooner dies in us but another rises up in its stead. We are apt to fancy that we shall be happy and satisfied if we possess ourselves of such and such particular enjoyments; but either by reason of their emptiness, or the natural inquietude of the mind, we have no sooner gained one point, but we extend our hopes to another. We still find new inviting scenes and landscapes lying behind those which at a distance terminated our view.”

IfsMindStillsReasonLyingDiesHopeNaturalViewsBehindsParticularSceneDistanceSatisfiedLandscapeEnjoymentFancyEmptinessInviting
Book:The Works: In Six Volumes
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“Ladies are always of great use to the party they espouse, and never fail to win over numbers to it. Lovers, according to Sir William Petty's computation, make at least the third part of sensible men of the British nation; and it has been an uncontroverted maxim in all ages, that though a husband is sometimes a stubborn sort of a creature, a lover is always at the devotion of his mistress. By this means, it lies in the power of every fine woman, to secure at least half a dozen able-bodied men to his Majesty's service.”

MenMeanHas BeensSometimesUseAgeAbleLyingWinningNationsPartyNumbersHalfFailingFineLoversHusbandCreaturesThirdsBritishDevotionSecureSensibleDozenStubbornPettyMaximsMistressMajestyComputation
Book:The Freeholder. Swift's notes on the Free-holder. The Plebian, by Sir Richard Steele, with The Old whig, by Mr. Addison. The Lover
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“When I read the epitaphs of the beautiful, every inordinate desire goes out; when I meet with the grief of parents upon a tombstone, my heart melts with compassion; when I see the tomb of the parents themselves, I consider the vanity of grieving for those whom we must quickly follow: when I see kings lying by those who deposed them, when I consider rival wits placed side by side, or the holy men that divided the world with their contests and disputes, I reflect with sorrow and astonishment on the little competitions, factions, and debates of mankind.”

MenWorldHeartLittlesBeautifulLyingDesireParentSidesGriefCompassionMankindKingsMy HeartSorrowHolyCompetitionWitDebateVanityGrievingDividedContestsDisputesRivalsTombsFactionsAstonishmentEpitaphTombstoneHoly ManHeart Melt
Book:The Spectator: With a Biographical and Critical Preface, and Explanatory Notes ...
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“A statue lies hid in a block of marble, and the art of the statuary only clears away the superfluous matter and removes the rubbish. The figure is in the stone; the sculptor only finds it. What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul. The philosopher, the saint, or the hero,--the wise, the good, or the great man,--very often lies hid and concealed in a plebeian, which a proper education might have disinterred, and have brought to light.”

MenHumansArtSoulMatterLightMightLyingEducationWiseFiguresHeroStonesSaintPhilosopherBlockGreat MenRemoveSculptureStatuesHuman SoulConcealedMarbleRubbishSculptorsSuperfluousPlebeians
Book:The works of ... Joseph Addison, with notes by R. Hurd
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“A thousand glorious actions that might claim Triumphant laurels, and immortal fame, Confus'd in crowds of glorious actions lie, And troops of heroes undistinguished die.”

WarMightActionLyingDiesHeroThousandFameClaimsCrowdsGloriousImmortalTroopsTriumphantLaurels
Book:The works of Joseph Addison: including the whole contents of B. Hurd's edition, with letters and other pieces not found in any previous collection, and Macaulay's essay on his life and works
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“One would wonder to hear skeptical men disputing for the reason of animals, and telling us it is only our pride and prejudices that will not allow them the use of that faculty. Reason shows itself in all occurrences of life; whereas the brute makes no discovery of such a talent, but in what immediately regards his own preservation, or the continuance of his species. Animals in their generation are wiser than the sons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass. Take a brute out of his instinct, and you find him wholly deprived of understanding.”

MenReasonUseShowsLyingUnderstandingAnimalWonderGenerationsTalentSonPrideDiscoveryPrejudiceRegardInstinctSpeciesFacultyHumankindWiserPreservationCompassDeprivedConfinedSkepticalBrutesContinuance
Book:The spectator
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“The Gods in bounty work up storms about us, that give mankind occasion to exert their hidden strength, and throw our into practice virtues that shun the day, and lie concealed in the smooth seasons and the calms of life.”

LifeGivingLyingPracticeVirtueMankindSeasonsCalmStormOccasionsSmoothConcealedBountyHidden Strength
Book:The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison: Poems on several occasions. Poemata. Dialogues upon the usefulness of ancient medals, especially in relation to the Latin and Greek poets. Remarks on several parts of Italy, in the years 1701, 1702, 1703
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“When I behold a fashionable table set out in all its magnificence, I fancy that I see gouts and dropsies, fevers and lethargies, with other innumerable distempers lying in ambuscade among the dishes. Nature delights in the most plain and simple diet. Every animal but man keeps to one dish. Herbs are the food of this species, fish of that, and flesh of a third. Man falls upon everything that comes in his way; not the smallest fruit or excrescence of the earth, scarce a berry or a mushroom can escape him.”

MenWayEarthScienceLyingFallSimpleAnimalThirdsTablesSpeciesFruitFishesDelightFleshDietsFancySmallestDishesFeverFashionableHerbsScarceMushroomsBerriesMagnificenceLethargyPlain And SimpleGout
Book:A Selection [- Second Selection] from the Paper of Addison: In the Spectator and Guardian, for the Use of Young Persons
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