2,116 Quotes by Samuel Johnson

Where necessity ends, desire and curiosity begin; and no sooner are we supplied with everything nature can demand than we sit down to contrive artificial appetites.

We consider ourselves as defective in memory, either because we remember less than we desire, or less than we suppose others to remember.

Sir, you must not neglect doing a thing immediately good from fear of remote evil; -from fear of its being abused.

People seldom read a book which is given to them; and few are given. The way to spread a work is to sell it at a low price. No man will send to buy a thing that costs even sixpence without an intention to read it.

There are, indeed, few kinds of composition from which an author, however learned or ingenious, can hope a long continuance of fame.

In order that all men might be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it.

I inherited a vile melancholy from my father, which has made me mad all my life, at least not sober.

Man is a transitory being, and his designs must partake of the imperfections their author.

Power is not sufficient evidence of truth.