Samuel Johnson

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.

He that outlives a wife whom he has long loved, sees himself disjoined from the only mind that has the same hopes, and fears, and interest; from the only companion with whom he has shared much good and evil; and with whom he could set his mind at liberty, to retrace the past or anticipate the future. The continuity of being is lacerated; the settled course of sentiment and action is stopped; and life stands suspended and motionless.

It is better to live rich than to die rich.

Those who attain any excellence, commonly spend life in one pursuit; for excellence is not often gained upon easier terms.

Never, my dear Sir, do you take it into your head that I do not love you; you may settle yourself in full confidence both of my love and my esteem; I love you as a kind man, I value you as a worthy man, and hope in time to reverence you as a man of exemplary piety.

Some desire is necessary to keep life in motion, and he whose real wants are supplied must admit those of fancy.

O imitators, you slavish herd!

Excessive literary production is a social offense.

The way to do well is to do well.

Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.

Nature… She pardons no mistakes. Her yea is yea, and her nay, nay.

Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue-to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak.

Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved.

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody.

We talk of choosing our friends, but friends are self-elected

You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.

He who has provoked the shaft of wit, cannot complain that he smarts from it.

The arts and inventions of each period are only its costume, and do not invigorate men.

Nothing astonishes people so much as common sense and plain dealing.

The beginning is the most important part of the work.

The intuitive recognition of the instant, thus reality… is the highest act of wisdom.