Samuel Johnson

Nature has given women so much power that the law has very wisely given them little.

No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of spring.

My dear friend, clear your mind of cant [excessive thought]. You may talk as other people do: you may say to a man, Sir, I am your most humble servant. You are not his most humble servant. You may say, These are bad times; it is a melancholy thing to be reserved to such times. You don’t mind the times … You may talk in this manner; it is a mode of talking in Society; but don’t think foolishly.

Of the blessings set before you make your choice, and be content.

Piety practiced in solitude, like the flower that blooms in the desert, may give its fragrance to the winds of heaven, and delight those unbodied spirits that survey the works of God and the actions of men; but it bestows no assistance upon earthly beings, and however free from taints of impurity, yet wants the sacred splendor of beneficence.

Whoever thinks of going to bed before twelve o clock is a scoundrel.

The men who have furnished me with my greatest inspiration have not been men of wealth, but men of deeds.

Often the surest way to convey misinformation is to tell the strict truth.

Youth is unduly busy with pampering the outer person.

Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.

Are you using your pain as an excuse or as a source of strength?

Quotation is the highest compliment you can pay to an author.

Independence? That’s middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.

Not even the Devil can call a woman “Slut” if he is not able to make her fall in love.

We hand folks over to God’s mercy, and show none ourselves.

We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.

I enjoy convalescence. It is the part that makes the illness worth while.

I’m only a beer teetotaler, not a champagne teetotaler.

Your mind will enchain you. Your heart will set you free.

The stars are the apexes of what triangles!

The superfluous, a very necessary thing.