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Quote by Samuel Johnson

“The animadversions of critics are commonly such as may easily provoke the sedatest writer to some quickness of resentment and asperity of reply.”

Quote by Samuel Johnson

Book:The Rambler
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Work

The Rambler

The Rambler is a collection of periodical essays written by Samuel Johnson, published twice weekly between 1750 and 1752. The essays cover a wide range of topics, including ethics, philosophy, literary criticism, and observations on daily life, often presented through fictional characters and allegorical narratives. Johnson's prose is characterized by its moral seriousness, rhetorical elegance, and deep psychological insight, aiming to instruct and improve readers while addressing universal human concerns such as ambition, vanity, and the pursuit of happiness. The work is considered a landmark in English essay writing and a key example of 18th-century moral literature. more

Author

Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson

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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Book:The Works of Samuel Johnson: An essay on the life and genius of Dr. Johnson [by A. Murphy] Poems.- v. 2-4. The rambler.- v. 5. The idler. History of Rasselas, prince of Abissinia.- v. 6-8. The lives of the English poets.- v. 9. Lives of eminent persons. Letters, selected from the collection of Mrs. Piozzi and others. Prayers and meditations.- v. 10. Philological tracts, &c.- v. 11. Miscellaneous tracts, &c. Dedications. Reviews and criticisms. Tales of imagination. The adventurers.-
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“There are certain topicks which are never exhausted. Of some images and sentiments the mind of man may be said to be enamoured; it meets them, however often they occur, with the same ardour which a lover feels at the sight of his mistress, and parts from them with the same regret when they can no longer be enjoyed.”

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Book:The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.
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“When a poet mentions the spring, we know that the zephyrs are about to whisper, that the groves are to recover their verdure, the linnets to warble forth their notes of love, and the flocks and herds to frisk over vales painted with flowers: yet, who is there so insensible of the beauties of nature, so little delighted with the renovation of the world, as not to feel his heart bound at the mention of the spring?”

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Book:The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: With Murphy's Essay
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“General irregularities are known in time to remedy themselves. By the constitution of ancient Egypt, the priesthood was continually increasing, till at length there was no people beside themselves; the establishment was then dissolved, and the number of priests was reduced and limited. Thus among us, writers will, perhaps, be multiplied, till no readers will be found, and then the ambition of writing must necessarily cease.”

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Book:The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.: D., with an Essay on His Life and Genius
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“To write is, indeed, no unpleasing employment, when one sentiment readily produces another, and both ideas and expressions present themselves at the first summons; but such happiness, the greatest genius does not always obtain; and common writers know it only to such a degree, as to credit its possibility. Composition is, for the most part, an effort of slow diligence and steady perseverance, to which the mind is dragged by necessity or resolution, and from which the attention is every moment starting to more delightful amusements.”

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Book:The Works of Samuel Johnson: The Adventurer and Idler
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“Every man speaks and writes with intent to be understood; and it can seldom happen but he that understands himself, might convey his notions to another, if, content to be understood, he did not seek to be admired; but when once he begins to contrive how his sentiments may be received, not with most ease to his reader, but with most advantage to himself, he then transfers his consideration from words to sounds, from sentences to periods, and, as he grows more elegant, becomes less intelligible.”

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Book:The Idler: With Additional Essays
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