Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison
Joseph Addisonwas an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend, Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth1 May 1672
nature rain sunshine
A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most recent blessings or misfortunes.
faith atheist religion
To be an atheist requires an indefinitely greater measure of faith than to recieve all the great truths which atheism would deny.
happiness enemy literature
Suspicion is not less an enemy to virtue than to happiness; he that is already corrupt is naturally suspicious, and he that becomes suspicious will quickly be corrupt.
life dream hope
If we hope for what we are not likely to possess, we act and think in vain, and make life a greater dream and shadow than it really is.
idols unhappy literature
There is not a more unhappy being than a superannuated idol.
funny humor criticism
Their is no defense against criticism except obscurity.
literature prophet prove
Jesters do often prove prophets.
break-through clouds serenity
Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity.
nature literature weakness
Mutability of temper and inconsistency with ourselves is the greatest weakness of human nature.
design attention may
An opera may be allowed to be extravagantly lavish in its decorations, as its only design is to gratify the senses and keep up an indolent attention in the audience.
witty men giving
The discreet man finds out the talents of those he converses with, and knows how to apply them to proper uses. Accordingly, if we look into particular communities and divisions of men, we may observe that it is the discreet man, not the witty, nor the learned, nor the brave, who guides the conversation, and gives measures to the society.
passion heart pride
There is no passion that steals into the heart more imperceptibly and covers itself under more disguises than pride.
understanding doubt gold
Gold is a wonderful clearer of the understanding; it dissipates every doubt and scruple in an instant.
writing lapses genius
The productions of a great genius, with many lapses and inadvertences, are infinitely preferable to the works of an inferior kind of author which are scrupulously exact, and conformable to all the rules of correct writing.