Samuel Johnson

A man who is good enough to go to heaven is not good enough to be a clergyman.

There are some sluggish men who are improved by drinking; as there are fruits that are not good until they are rotten.

There are few minds to which tyranny is not delightful.

When men come to like a sea-life, they are not fit to live on land.

More knowledge may be gained of a man’s real character by a short conversation with one of his servants than from a formal and studied narrative, begun with his pedigree and ended with his funeral.

Sir, a man who cannot get to heaven in a green coat, will not find his way thither the sooner in a gray one.

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

Give me insight into today and you may have the antique and future worlds.

What a new face courage puts on everything!

The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine.

There is a crack in everything God has made.

Life is a progress from want to want, not from enjoyment to enjoyment.

It is when I struggle to be brief that I become obscure.

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.

There are many scapegoats for our sins, but the most popular is providence.

Self-command is the main discipline.

We are a puny and fickle folk. Avarice, hesitation, and following are our diseases.

The universal regard for money is the one hopeful fact in our civilization. Money is the most important thing in the world. It represents health, strength, honor, generosity and beauty. Not the least of its virtues is that it destroys base people as certainly as it fortifies and dignifies noble people.

Great geniuses have the shortest biographies.

Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.

I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, and obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not; and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board.