2,116 Quotes by Samuel Johnson

Insanity is the power of fancy over reason.

I am a great friend to public amusements, for they keep the people from vice.

There is no being so poor and so contemptible, who does not think there is somebody still poorer, and still more contemptible.

Wine gives a man nothing... it only puts in motion what had been locked up in frost.

There are indeed, in the present corruption of mankind, many incitements to forsake truth: the need of palliating our own faults and the convenience of imposing on the ignorance or credulity of others so frequently occur; so many immediate evils are

Courtesy and good humor are often found with little real worth.

It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.

I have observed, that in comedy, the best actor plays the part of the droll, while some scrub rogue is made the hero, or fine gentleman. So, in this farce of life, wise men pass their time in mirth, whilst fools only are serious.

Men who stand in the highest ranks of society seldom hear of their faults; if by any accident an opprobrious clamour reaches their ears, flattery is always at hand to pour in her opiates, to quiet conviction and obtund remorse.