A. Johnson
A. Johnson
hypocrisy villain burden
Hypocrisy is the necessary burden of villainy, affectation part of the chosen trappings of folly; the one completes a villain, the other only finishes a fop.
self-improvement desire increase
Our desires always increase with our possessions. The knowledge that something remains yet unenjoyed impairs our enjoyment of the good before us.
society firsts duty
It is our first duty to serve society.
wise men quitting
He is no wise man who will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.
humanity customs universal
The most useful truths are always universal, and unconnected with accidents and customs.
sloth laziness kind
There is no kind of idleness by which we are so easily seduced as that which dignifies itself by the appearance of business.
crucible body limits
I soon found that wit, like every other power, has its boundaries; that its success depends upon the aptitude of others to receive impressions; and that as some bodies, indissoluble by heat, can set the furnace and crucible at defiance, there are min
letters bows opinion
A short letter to a distant friend is, in my opinion, an insult like that of a slight bow or cursory salutation - a proof of unwillingness to do much, even where there is a necessity of doing something.
bores-you two boredom
Sir, you have but two topics, yourself and me. I am sick of both.
uncertain stability bases
Since life itself is uncertain, nothing which has life for its basis can boast much stability.
sorrow useless hopeless
There is no wisdom in useless and hopeless sorrow.
crowns half morality
The morality of an action depends on the motive from which we act. If I fling half a crown to a beggar with intention to break his head and he picks it up and buy victuals with it, the physical effect is good. But with respect to me the action is very wrong.
oxen fats should
Who drives fat oxen should himself be fat.
wise doe welcome
If what happens does not make us richer, we must welcome it if it makes us wiser.