A. Johnson
A. Johnson
death bears wells
The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.
death sleep preparation
To neglect at any time preparation for death is to sleep on our post at a siege; to omit it in old age is to sleep at an attack.
authorship touched left
Who left nothing of authorship untouched, and touched nothing which he did not adorn. [Lat., Qui nullum fere scribendi genus non tetigit; nullum quod tetigit non ornavit.]
evil suffering stills
Still we love The evil we do, until we suffer it.
obscurity violence pushing
He that is pushing his predecessors into the gulf of obscurity, cannot but sometimes suspect, that he must himself sink in like manner, and, as he stands upon the same precipice, be swept away with the same violence.
wine giving wish
It is more reasonable to wish for reputation while it may be enjoyed, as Anacreon calls upon his companions to give him for present use the wine and garlands which they propose to bestow upon his tomb.
disappointment exercise design
None of the projects or designs which exercise the mind of man are equally subject to obstructions and disappointments with the pursuit of fame.
mind body stamina
Foppery is never cured; it is the bad stamina of the mind, which, like those of the body, are never rectified; once a coxcomb always a coxcomb.
friends failing manners
Friends are often chosen for similitude of manners, and therefore each palliates the other's failings because they are his own.
friends men sick
How few of his friends' houses would a man choose to be at when he is sick.
friendship love-is like-love
Friendship, like love, is destroyed by long absence, though it may be increased by short intermissions. What we have missed long enough to want it, we value more when it is regained; but that which has been lost till it is forgotten will be found at last with little gladness, and with still less if a substitute has supplied the place.
friendship pleasure higher
Life has no pleasure higher or nobler than that of friendship.
liars men evil
As the greatest liar tells more truths than falsehoods, so may it be said of the worst man, that he does more good than evil.
happiness idle
Nothing is more idle than to inquire after happiness, which nature has kindly placed within our reach.