Samuel Johnson

Life must be filled up, and the man who is not capable of intellectual pleasures must content himself with such as his senses can afford.

It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time.

Wickedness is always easier than virtue, for it takes a short cut to everything.

Extended empires are like expanded gold, exchanging solid strength for feeble splendor.

Adversity has ever been considered the state in which a man most easily becomes acquainted with himself.

Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea.

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

A man’s wife has more power over him than the state has.

There are few minds to which tyranny is not delightful.

Our most important task is to transform our consciousness so that violence is no longer an option for us in our personal lives, that understanding that a world of peace is possible only if we relate to each other as peaceful beings, one individual at a time.

Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.

There are no conditions to which a person cannot grow accustomed, especially if he sees that everyone around him lives in the same way.

Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.

In nature nothing can be given. All things are sold.

Nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself, something that encompasses you but is not defined by your existence alone.

He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad.

If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use the pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time; a tremendous whack.

I know no religion that destroys courtesy, civility, and kindness.

A man makes inferiors his superiors by heat; self-control is the rule.

Be true to your own act and congratulate yourself if you have done something strange and extravagant to break the monotony of a decorous age.

We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.