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Quote by Samuel Johnson

Work

The beauties of Johnson: choice selections from his works

The book is a curated selection of Johnson's writings, offering readers a glimpse into his extensive and varied literary contributions. 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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“Words too familiar, or too remote, defeat the purpose of a poet. From those sounds which we hear on small or on coarse occasions, we do not easily receive strong impressions, or delightful images; and words to which we are nearly strangers, whenever they occur, draw that attention on themselves which they should transmit to other things.”

ShouldWritingPurposeStrongSoundAttentionPoetDrawsDefeatStrangerImpressionFamiliarOccasionsDelightfulTransmitCoarse
Book:The Lives of the English Poets
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“Works of imagination excel by their allurement and delight; by their power of attracting and detaining the attention. That book is good in vain which the reader throws away. He only is the master who keeps the mind in pleasing captivity; whose pages are perused with eagerness, and in hope of new pleasure are perused again; and whose conclusion is perceived with an eye of sorrow, such as the traveller casts upon departing day.”

WritingMindBookEyeImaginationPleasureAttentionMastersReaderSorrowPagesCastsDelightConclusionVainTravellerEagernessCaptivityDepartingDetaining
Book:Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets: With Critical Observations on Their Works
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“Every man is of importance to himself, and, therefore, in his own opinion, to others; and, supposing the world already acquainted with his pleasures and his pains, is perhaps the first to publish injuries or misfortunes which had never been known unless related by himself, and at which those that hear them will only laugh, for no man sympathises with the sorrows of vanity.”

MenWorldWritingFirstsPainPleasureKnownOpinionLaughingSorrowImportanceEvery ManVanityRelatedInjuryMisfortunesPublishSupposing
Book:The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper: Including the Series Edited with Prefaces, Biographical and Critical
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“In this work are exhibited, in a very high degree, the two most engaging powers of an author. New things are made familiar, and familiar things are made new.”

WritingMadeTwoDegreesFamiliarNew ThingsEngagingFamiliar Things
Book:The works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: Together with his life, and notes on his Lives of the poets, by Sir John Hawkins, Knt. In eleven volumes ...
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“The art of the writer, like that of the player, is attained by slow degrees. The power of distinguishing and discriminating comick characters, or of filling tragedy with poetical images, must be the gift of nature, which no instruction nor labour can supply; but the art of dramatick disposition, the contexture of the scenes, the involution of the plot, the expedients of suspension, and the strategems of surprise, are to be learned by practice.”

WritingArtCharacterPracticePlayerSceneDegreesTragedySurpriseLabourPlotInstructionDispositionFillingSuspension
Book:The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D..: The Adventurer and Idler
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