Samuel Johnson

Much may be made of a Scotchman, if he be caught young.

I hate mankind, for I think of myself as one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.

No man is much regarded by the rest of the world. He that considers how little he dwells upon the condition of others, will learn how little the attention of others is attracted by himself. While we see multitudes passing before us, of whom perhaps not one appears to deserve our notice or excites our sympathy, we should remember, that we likewise are lost in the same throng, that the eye which happens to glance upon us is turned in a moment on him that follows us, and that the utmost which we can reasonably hope or fear is to fill a vacant hour with prattle, and be forgotten.

And then, Sir, there is this consideration, that if the abuse be enormous, nature will rise up, and claiming her original rights, overturn a corrupt political system.

At seventy-seven it is time to be in earnest.

As the Spanish proverb says, He who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry the wealth of the Indies with him. So it is in travelling; a man must carry knowledge with him, if he would bring home knowledge.

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.

We have only now, only this single eternal moment opening and unfolding before us, day and night.

Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.

Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.

At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins.

All Excess is ill: But Drunkenness is of the worst Sort. It spoils Health, dismounts the Mind, and unmans Men: It reveals Secrets, is Quarrelsome, Lascivious, Impudent, Dangerous and Mad. In fine, he that is drunk is not a Man: Because he is so long void of Reason, that distinguishes a Man from a Beast.

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

The value of a principle is the number of things it will explain.

France has neither winter nor summer nor morals. Apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country.

The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend.

All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.

All great truths begin as blasphemies.

There was never a century nor a country that was short of experts who knew the Deity’s mind and were willing to reveal it.

It is better that some should be unhappy than that none should be happy, which would be the case in a general state of equality.

What you can’t pay back you pay forward.