Between falsehood and useless truth there is little difference. As gold which he cannot spend will make no man rich, so knowledge which cannot apply will make no man wise.

Quote by Samuel Johnson

Topics: Samuel Johnson Quotes

Questioning is not the mode of conversation among gentlemen

Questioning is not the mode of conversation among gentlemen

Every reader should remember the diffidence of Socrates, and repair by his candour the injuries...

Every reader should remember the diffidence of Socrates, and repair by his candour the injuries...

One of the disadvantages of wine is that it makes a man mistake words for...

One of the disadvantages of wine is that it makes a man mistake words for...

Self-love is often rather arrogant than blind; it does not hide our faults from ourselves,...

Self-love is often rather arrogant than blind; it does not hide our faults from ourselves,...

Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.

Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.

There is scarcely any writer who has not celebrated the happiness of rural privacy, and...

There is scarcely any writer who has not celebrated the happiness of rural privacy, and...

No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a...

No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a...

Every error in human conduct must arise from ignorance in ourselves, either perpetual or temporary;...

Every error in human conduct must arise from ignorance in ourselves, either perpetual or temporary;...

There is no private house in which people can enjoy themselves so well as at...

There is no private house in which people can enjoy themselves so well as at...

A wise man is cured of ambition by ambition itself; his aim is so exalted...

A wise man is cured of ambition by ambition itself; his aim is so exalted...

In the bottle discontent seeks for comfort, cowardice for courage, and bashfulness for confidence.

In the bottle discontent seeks for comfort, cowardice for courage, and bashfulness for confidence.

When once a man has made celebrity necessary to his happiness, he has put it...

When once a man has made celebrity necessary to his happiness, he has put it...

Courage is a quality so necessary for maintaining virtue, that it is always respected, even...

Courage is a quality so necessary for maintaining virtue, that it is always respected, even...

Men know that women are an over-match for them, and therefore they choose the weakest...

Men know that women are an over-match for them, and therefore they choose the weakest...

To prevent evil is the great end of government, the end for which vigilance and...

To prevent evil is the great end of government, the end for which vigilance and...

I would not give half a guinea to live under one form of government other...

I would not give half a guinea to live under one form of government other...

We owe few of the rules of writing to the acuteness of critics, who have...

We owe few of the rules of writing to the acuteness of critics, who have...

Criticism is a study by which men grow important and formidable at very small expense....

Criticism is a study by which men grow important and formidable at very small expense....

The world is seldom what it seems; to man, who dimly sees, realities appear as...

The world is seldom what it seems; to man, who dimly sees, realities appear as...

The wretched have no compassion, they can do good only from strong principles of duty.

The wretched have no compassion, they can do good only from strong principles of duty.