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Quote by Samuel Johnson

“Those whose abilities or knowledge incline them most to deviate from the general round of life are recalled from eccentricity by the laws of their existence.”

Quote by Samuel Johnson

Book:The Wisdom of the Rambler, Adventurer, and Idler

Work

The Wisdom of the Rambler, Adventurer, and Idler

This book delves into the profound insights gained from the experiences of rambling, adventuring, and idling, offering a unique perspective on the value of these activities in personal growth and understanding of the world. more

Author

Samuel Johnson was an English writer, poet, and lexicographer, renowned for his comprehensive English dictionary, 'A Dictionary of the English Language', published in 1755. His distinctive writing style and wit have cemented his place as a significant figure in the history of English literature. more

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“Human happiness has always its abatements; the brightest sunshine of success is not without a cloud.”

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Book:Lives of the British Poets: In Four Volumes

Source: Lives of the British Poets: In Four Volumes

“We are unreasonably desirous to separate the goods of life from those evils which Providence has connected with them, and to catch advantages without paying the price at which they are offered to us. Every man wishes to be rich, but very few have the powers necessary to raise a sudden fortune, either by new discoveries, or by superiority of skill in any necessary employment; and among lower understandings many want the firmness and industry requisite to regular gain and gradual acquisitions.”

Source: Works: With an Essay on His Life and Genius

“The hostility perpetually exercised between one man and another, is caused by the desire of many for that which only few can possess. Every man would be rich, powerful, and famous; yet fame, power, and riches, are only the names of relative conditions, which imply the obscurity, dependence, and poverty of greater numbers.”

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Book:The Rambler: In Four Volumes..

Source: The Rambler: In Four Volumes..

“The power, indeed, of every individual is small, and the consequence of his endeavours imperceptible, in a general prospect of the world. Providence has given no man ability to do much, that something might be left for every man to do. The business of life is carried on by a general co-operation; in which the part of any single man can be no more distinguished, than the effect of a particular drop when the meadows are floated by a summer shower: yet every drop increases the inundation, and every hand adds to the happiness or misery of mankind.”

Source: The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: With An Essay on His Life and Genius

“Men, however distinguished by external accidents or intrinsick qualities, have all the same wants, the same pains, and, as far as the senses are consulted, the same pleasures.”

Men Want Pain Humanity Pleasure Quality Accidents Senses Distinguished

Book:The works of Samuel Johnson

Source: The works of Samuel Johnson

“The most useful truths are always universal, and unconnected with accidents and customs.”

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Book:The beauties of Samuel Johnson: maxims and observations. To which are now added, biographical anecdotes of the doctor, his life [&c.].

Source: The beauties of Samuel Johnson: maxims and observations. To which are now added, biographical anecdotes of the doctor, his life [&c.].

“The uniform necessities of human nature produce in a great measure uniformity of life, and for part of the day make one place like another; to dress and to undress, to eat and to sleep, are the same in London as in the country.”

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Book:The Rambler: A Periodical Paper, Published in 1750, 1751, 1752

Source: The Rambler: A Periodical Paper, Published in 1750, 1751, 1752

“He that compares what he has done with what he has left undone, will feel the effect which must always follow the comparison of imagination with reality; he will look with contempt on his own unimportance, and wonder to what purpose he came into the world; he will repine that he shall leave behind him no evidence of his having been, that he has added nothing to the system of life, but has glided from youth to age among the crowd, without any effort for distinction.”

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Book:Works

Source: Works

“He that would travel for the entertainment of others, should remember that the great object of remark is human life. Every Nation has something peculiar in its Manufactures, its Works of Genius, its Medicines, its Agriculture, its Customs, and its Policy. He only is a useful Traveller, who brings home something by which his country may be benefited; who procures some supply of Want, or some mitigation of Evil, which may enable his readers to compare their condition with that of others, to improve it whenever it is worse, and whenever it is better to enjoy it.”

“It is commonly supposed that the uniformity of a studious life affords no matter for narration: but the truth is, that of the most studious life a great part passes without study. An author partakes of the common condition of humanity; he is born and married like another man; he has hopes and fears, expectations and disappointments, griefs and joys, and friends and enemies, like a courtier or a statesman; nor can I conceive why his affairs shuld not excite curiosity as much as the whisper of a drawing-room, or the factions of a camp.”

Source: The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.: D., with an Essay on His Life and Genius