Samuel Johnson Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Samuel Johnson quotes, Samuel Johnson sayings, and Samuel Johnson proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

Nothing flatters a man as much as the happiness of his wife; he is always proud of himself as the source of it. Samuel Johnson
Friendship, compounded of esteem and love, derives from one its tenderness and its permanence from the other. Samuel Johnson
Books, like friends, should be few and well-chosen. Samuel Johnson
Unintelligible language is a lantern without a light. Samuel Johnson
The world is like a grand staircase, some are going up and some are going down. Samuel Johnson
Long hast thou borne the burden of the day, / Thy task is ended, venerable Grey! / No more shall art thy dexterous hand require, / To break the sleep of elemental fire: / To rouse the powers that actuate Nature's frame, / The momentaneous shock, th' electric flame; / The flame, which at first, weak pupil of thy lore, / I saw, condemn'd, alas! to see no more. Samuel Johnson
The powers of the letters, when they were applied to a new language, must have been vague and unsettled, and therefore different hands would exhibit the same sound by different combinations. Samuel Johnson
A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization. Samuel Johnson
The inevitable consequence of poverty is dependence. Samuel Johnson
Poor Sober! I have often teased him with reproof, and lie has often promised reformation: for no man is so much open to conviction as the idler, but there is none on whom it operates so little. Samuel Johnson
Every man is, or hopes to be, an idler. Samuel Johnson
I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read. Samuel Johnson
I am a hardened and shameless tea drinker, who has for twenty years diluted his meals only with the infusion of this fascinating plant; whose kettle has scarcely time to cool; who with tea amuses the evening, with tea solaces the midnight, and with tea welcomes the morning. Samuel Johnson
Night comes at last, and some hours of restlessness and confusion brings me again to a day of solitude. What shall exclude the black dog from a habitation like this? Samuel Johnson
Wherever I turned my view, there was perplexity to be disentangled, and confusion to be regulated. Samuel Johnson
Claret is the liquor for boys; port, for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy. Samuel Johnson
Age is rarely despised but when it is, contemptible. Samuel Johnson
City of God, how broad and far / Outspread thy walls sublime! / The true thy chartered freemen are, / Of every age and clime. Samuel Johnson
Rain is good for vegetables, and for the animals who eat those vegetables, and for the animals who eat those animals. Samuel Johnson
It is very strange, and very melancholy, that the paucity of human pleasures should persuade us ever to call hunting one of them. Samuel Johnson
Love is the wisdom of the fool, and the folly of the wise. Samuel Johnson
Friendship, like love, is destroyed by long absence, though it may be increased by short intermissions. Samuel Johnson
Whoever thinks of going to bed before twelve o'clock is a scoundrel. Samuel Johnson
Man alone is born crying, lives complaining, and dies disappointed. Samuel Johnson
Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier. Samuel Johnson
Love is the wisdom of the fool, and the folly of the wise. Samuel Johnson
Self-confidence is the first requisite to undertakings. Samuel Johnson
I believe it will be found that those who marry late are best pleased with their children; and those who marry early, with their partners. Samuel Johnson
But that the happiness of man may still remain imperfect, as wants in this place are easily supplied, new wants likewise are easily created. Samuel Johnson
The true art of memory is the art of attention. Samuel Johnson