Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Samuel Johnson

Quote by Samuel Johnson

“Criticism, though dignified from the earliest ages by the labours of men eminent for knowledge and sagacity, has not yet attained the certainty and stability of science.”

Quote by Samuel Johnson

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

You May Also Like

“Even those to whom Providence has allotted greater strength of understanding, can expect only to improve a single science. In every other part of learning, they must be content to follow opinions, which they are not able to examine; and, even in that which they claim as peculiarly their own, can seldom add more than some small particle of knowledge, to the hereditary stock devolved to them from ancient times, the collective labour of a thousand intellects.”

“First, In showing in how to avoid attempting impossibilities. Second, In securing us from important mistakes in attempting what is, in itself possible, by means either inadequate or actually opposed to the end in view. Thirdly, In enabling us to accomplish our ends in the easiest, shortest, most economical, and most effectual manner. Fourth, In inducing us to attempt, and enabling us to accomplish, object which, but for such knowledge, we should never have thought of understanding. On the ways that a knowledge of the order of nature can be of use.”