Samuel Johnson

Such is the state of life, that none are happy but by the anticipation of change: the change itself is nothing; when we have made it, the next wish is to change again. The world is not yet exhausted; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw before.

Fear is implanted in us as a preservative from evil; but its duty, like that of other passions, is not to overbear reason, but to assist it. It should not be suffered to tyrannize

Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs as well as a tree. We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us.

Attention and respect give pleasure, however late, or however useless. But they are not useless, when they are late, it is reasonable to rejoice, as the day declines, to find that it has been spent with the approbation of mankind.

Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime; it is not to be purchased at a lesser price.

One of the disadvantages of wine is that it makes a man mistake words for thoughts.

It is said that the present is pregnant with the future.

Have good trust in yourself … not in the One that you think you should be, but in the One that you are.

Morality is suspecting other people of not being legally married.

We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse.

No mistake is more common and more fatuous than appealing to logic in cases which are beyond her jurisdiction.

Don’t be a hard rock when you really are a gem!

A am a great friend of public amusements, they keep people from vice.

When you know to laugh and when to look upon things as too absurd to take seriously, the other person is ashamed to carry through even if he was serious about it.

Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. Aim above morality. Be not simply good;be good for something.All fables, indeed, have their morals; but the innocent enjoy the story. Let nothing come between you and the light. Respect men and brothers only. When you travel to the Celestial City, carry no letter of introduction. When you knock, ask to see God,

No poems can please for long or live that are written by water drinkers.

The course of everything goes to teach us faith.

I always like people who have developed long and hard, particularly through introspection and a lot of dedication. I think that what they arrive at is, usually, deeper and more beautiful than the person who seems to have that ability and fluidity from the beginning.

He will always be a slave who does not know how to live upon a little.

There is a tendency for things to right themselves.

It is only through labour and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage; that we move on to better things.