2,116 Quotes by Samuel Johnson

I'll come no more behind your scenes, David; for the silk stockings and white bosoms of your actresses excite my amorous propensities

Assertion is not argument; to contradict the statement of an opponent is not proof that you are correct.

Ridicule is a kind of gangrene, which if it seizes one part of a character corrupts all the rest.

The wise man applauds he who he thinks most virtuous; the rest of the world applauds the wealthy.

A man had rather have a hundred lies told of him than one truth which he does not wish should be told.

Power is gradually stealing away from the many to the few, because the few are more vigilant and consistent.

I found you essay to be good and original. However, the part that was original was not good and the part that was good was not original.

The truth is that the spectators are always in their senses, and know, from the first act to the last, that the stage is only a stage, and that the players are only players.

To keep your secret is wisdom; but to expect others to keep it is folly.