Samuel Johnson

England
18 Sep 1709 // 13 Dec 1784
Writer

Quotes

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Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified
Language is the dress of thought
Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it
Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not
It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time
It is reasonable to have perfection in our eye that we may always advance toward it, though we know it can never be reached
It is not true that people are naturally equal, for no two people can be together for even a half an hour without one acquiring an evident superiority over the other
It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentionally lying that there is so much falsehood in the world
It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust
It is better to live rich than to die rich
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
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Human, All Too Human
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