One of the amusements of idleness is reading without the fatigue of close attention; and the world therefore swarms with writers whose wish is not to be studied, but to be read.

Quote by Samuel Johnson

Topics: Writers Quotes

If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are...

If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are...

Worth seeing? Yes; but not worth going to see.

Worth seeing? Yes; but not worth going to see.

He that applauds him who does not deserve praise, is endeavoring to deceive the public;...

He that applauds him who does not deserve praise, is endeavoring to deceive the public;...

He that fails in his endeavors after wealth or power will not long retain either...

He that fails in his endeavors after wealth or power will not long retain either...

Wine gives a man nothing... it only puts in motion what had been locked up...

Wine gives a man nothing... it only puts in motion what had been locked up...

Fraud and falsehood only dread examination. Truth invites it.

Fraud and falsehood only dread examination. Truth invites it.

There are few doors through which liberality, joined with good humor, cannot find its way.

There are few doors through which liberality, joined with good humor, cannot find its way.

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...

Nature makes us poor only when we want necessaries, but custom gives the name of...

Nature makes us poor only when we want necessaries, but custom gives the name of...

No man is a hypocrite in his pleasures

No man is a hypocrite in his pleasures

Memory is the primary and fundamental power, without which there could be no other intellectual...

Memory is the primary and fundamental power, without which there could be no other intellectual...

Pride is seldom delicate, it will please itself with very mean advantages; and envy feels...

Pride is seldom delicate, it will please itself with very mean advantages; and envy feels...

It is not from reason and prudence that people marry, but from inclination

It is not from reason and prudence that people marry, but from inclination

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...

Nothing is more hopeless than a scheme of merriment.

Nothing is more hopeless than a scheme of merriment.

Marriage is the best state for man in general, and every man is a worst...

Marriage is the best state for man in general, and every man is a worst...

The mind is seldom quickened to very vigorous operations but by pain, or the dread...

The mind is seldom quickened to very vigorous operations but by pain, or the dread...

Moral sentences appear ostentatious and tumid, when they have no greater occasions than the journey...

Moral sentences appear ostentatious and tumid, when they have no greater occasions than the journey...

Dont sacrifice yourself too much, because if you sacrifice too much theres nothing else you...

Dont sacrifice yourself too much, because if you sacrifice too much theres nothing else you...

Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.

Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.

What restrains us from killing is partly fear of punishment, partly moral scruple, and partly...

What restrains us from killing is partly fear of punishment, partly moral scruple, and partly...

I soon found that wit, like every other power, has its boundaries; that its success...

I soon found that wit, like every other power, has its boundaries; that its success...