Samuel Johnson

Courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you haven’t courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others.

Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures.

Tomorrow is an old deceiver, and his cheat never grows stale.

Cruel with guilt, and daring with despair, the midnight murderer bursts the faithless bar; invades the sacred hour of silent rest and leaves, unseen, a dagger in your breast.

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.

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.

A graceful and pleasing figure is a perpetual letter of recommendation.

The man who is dissatisfied with himself, what can he do?

Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody reads.

No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself.

We don’t want people to have expectations of us, but then we have expectations of everybody else.

Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.

Beauty is all very well at first sight; but who ever looks at it when it has been in the house three days?

There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.

Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!

The way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody.

Be present in all things and thankful for all things.

If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.

Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it.

A man thinks as well through his legs and arms as this brain.