#samuel-johnson — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #samuel-johnson, aggregated by home.social.
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Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.
-- Samuel Johnson (1775) -
A quotation from Samuel Johnson
The gloomy and the resentful are always found among those who have nothing to do or who do nothing.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1759-09-01), The Idler, No. 72More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/29381…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #bitterness #boredom #gloom #gloominess #idlehands #idleness #indolence #laziness #malcontent #meaninglessness #resentfulness #resentment #slacker #sullenness #uselessness #sloth
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Men are generally idle, and ready to satisfy themselves, and intimidate the industry of others, by calling that impossible which is only difficult.
-- Samuel Johnson⬆ #Wisdom #Quotes #SamuelJohnson #Difficulty #HumanNature #Life
⬇ #Photography #Panorama #ChacoCanyon #Petroglyphs #NewMexico
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
Merriment is always the effect of a sudden impression. The jest which is expected is already destroyed.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1759-05-26), The Idler, No. 58More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/20598…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #expectations #humor #jest #joke #merriment #reaction #surprise
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought. Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks. The flowers which scatter their odours from time to time in the paths of life, grow up without culture from seeds scattered by chance.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1759-05-26), The Idler, No. 58More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/20542…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #expectations #gladness #goodfortune #goodluck #happiness #pleasure #serendipity #surprise #unexpectedness
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
Prudence operates on life in the same manner as rules on composition: it produces vigilance rather than elevation, rather prevents loss than procures advantage; and often escapes miscarriages but seldom reaches either power or honor. It quenches that ardor of enterprise by which every thing is done that can claim praise or admiration; and represses that generous temerity which often fails and often succeeds. Rules may obviate faults, but can never confer beauties; and prudence keeps life safe, but does not often make it happy.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1759-05-19), The Idler, No. 57More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/2133/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #caution #circumspection #commonsense #discretion #happiness #prudence #safety #shrewdness #takingcare #wariness
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
To put every man in possession of his own time, and rescue the day from the succession of usurpers, is beyond my power, and beyond my hope. Yet perhaps, some stop might be put to this unmerciful persecution, if all would seriously reflect, that whoever pays a visit that is not desired, or talks longer than the hearer is willing to attend, is guilty of an injury which he cannot repair, and takes away that which he cannot give.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1758-07-15), The Idler, No. 14More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/82877…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #buttonhole #conversation #imposition #interruption #leavealone #stealingtime #time #timesink
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There will always be a part, and always a very large part of every community, that have no care but for themselves, and whose care for themselves reaches little further than impatience of immediate pain, and eagerness for the nearest good.
-- Samuel Johnson -
A quotation from Samuel Johnson
There is no kind of idleness by which we are so easily seduced as that which dignifies itself by the appearance of business, and by making the loiterer imagine that he has something to do which must not be neglected, keeps in perpetual agitation and hurries him from place to place.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1759-03-17), The Idler, No. 48More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/2157/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #activity #busyness #dosomething #idleness #keepingbusy
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
Among the calamities of war, may be justly numbered the diminution of the love of truth, by the falsehoods which interest dictates, and credulity encourages.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1758-11-11), The Idler, No. 30More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/5636/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #belief #credulity #deceit #deception #disinformation #meme #nationalhonor #nationalinterest #nationalism #patriotism #propaganda #publicrelations #spin #war
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
He that applauds him who does not deserve praise, is endeavoring to deceive the public; he that hisses in malice or sport, is an oppressor and a robber.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1758-10-07), The Idler, No. 25More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/26659…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #applause #critic #criticism #deception #editor #feedback #honesty #integrity #praise #review
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
Friendship, like love, is destroyed by long absence, though it may be increased by short intermissions.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1758-09-23), The Idler, No. 23More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/37697…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #absence #affection #break #friendship #intermission #love #meme #parting #separation
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
To be idle and to be poor have always been reproaches, and therefore every man endeavours with his utmost care to hide his poverty from others, and his idleness from himself.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1758-08-05), The Idler, No. 17More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/25830…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #criticism #deception #flaws #idleness #integrity #laziness #poverty #reproach #reputation #selfawareness #selfdeception #sloth
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather; they are in haste to tell each other, what each must already know, that it is hot or cold, bright or cloudy, windy or calm.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1758-06-24), The Idler, No. 11More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/20468…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #chitchat #conversation #discussion #English #meeting #socializing #topic #weather
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
But when thoughts and words are collected and adjusted, and the whole composition at last concluded, it seldom gratifies the author, when he comes coolly and deliberately to review it, with the hopes which had been excited in the fury of the performance: novelty always captivates the mind; as our thoughts rise fresh upon us, we readily believe them just and original, which, when the pleasure of production is over, we find to be mean and common, or borrowed from the works of others, and supplied by memory rather than invention.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1754-03-02), The Adventurer, No. 138More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/81911…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #author #creativity #disappointment #editing #novelty #originality #plagiarism #repetition #review #selfconsciousness #selfcriticism #selfdefeat #selfdeprecation #selfdoubt #selfjudgment #selfopinion #selfreflection #selfsabotage #writing
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
Composition is, for the most part, an effort of slow diligence and steady perseverance, to which the mind is dragged by necessity or resolution, and from which the attention is every moment starting to more delightful amusements.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1754-03-02), The Adventurer, No. 138More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/25299…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #author #distraction #drudgery #essayist #novelist #storyteller #writing #writer
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
Even the acquisition of knowledge is often much facilitated by the advantages of society: he that never compares his notions with those of others, readily acquiesces in his first thoughts, and very seldom discovers the objections which may be raised against his opinions; he, therefore, often thinks himself in possession of truth, when he is only fondling an errour long since exploded. He that has neither companions nor rivals in his studies, will always applaud his own progress, and think highly of his performances, because he knows not that others have equalled or excelled him. And I am afraid it may be added, that the student who withdraws himself from the world, will soon feel that ardour extinguished which praise or emulation had enkindled, and take the advantage of secrecy to sleep, rather than to labour.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1754-01-19), The Adventurer, No. 126More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/81496…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #study #studygroup #argument #collaboration #company #debate #education #error #interaction #isolation #learning #motivation #realitycheck #selfcongratulations #selfcontrol #selfcorrection #selfcriticism #selfdeception #selfdelusion #selfeducation #selfmotivation #selfpolicing #selfpraising #selfrationalization #selfrighteousness #selfsufficiency #society #solitude #truth
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There will always be a part, and always a very large part of every community, that have no care but for themselves, and whose care for themselves reaches little further than impatience of immediate pain, and eagerness for the nearest good.
-- Samuel Johnson -
A quotation from Samuel Johnson
But though learning may be conferred by solitude, its application must be attained by general converse. He has learned to no purpose, that is not able to teach; and he will always teach unsuccessfully, who cannot recommend his sentiments by his diction or address.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1754-01-19), The Adventurer, No. 126More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/81303…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #clarity #communication #education #interaction #learning #solitude #teaching
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
Yet it is certain, likewise, that many of our miseries are merely comparative: we are often made unhappy, not by the presence of any real evil, but by the absence of some fictitious good; of something which is not required by any real want of nature, which has not in itself any power of gratification, and which neither reason nor fancy would have prompted us to wish, did we not see it in the possession of others.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1753-11-27), The Adventurer, No. 111More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/80903…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #comparison #desire #discontent #envy #gratification #jealousy #keepingupwiththejoneses #lack #misery #resentment #unhappiness #want
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
The evils inseparably annexed to the present condition of man, are so numerous and afflictive, that it has been, from age to age, the task of some to bewail, and of others to solace them; and he, therefore, will be in danger of seeing a common enemy, who shall attempt to depreciate the few pleasures and felicities which nature has allowed us.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1753-11-27), The Adventurer, No. 111More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/80774…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #affliction #buzzkill #enjoyment #evils #happiness #humancondition #moralist #partypooper #partying #pleasure #Puritan #relief #scold #strictness #suffering #fun
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes, and seeing them gratified. He that labours in any great or laudable undertaking, has his fatigues first supported by hope, and afterwards rewarded by joy; he is always moving to a certain end, and when he has attained it, an end more distant invites him to a new pursuit.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1753-11-27), The Adventurer, No. 111More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/2135/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #accomplishment #difficulty #effort #gratification #greatworks #joy #life #living #pleasure #success
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A quotation from Samuel Johnson
Happiness is enjoyed only in proportion as it is known; and such is the state or folly of man, that it is known only by experience of its contrary: we who have long lived amidst the conveniencies of a town immensely populous, have scarce an idea of a place where desire cannot be gratified by money. In order to have a just sense of this artificial plenty, it is necessary to have passed some time in a distant colony, or those parts of our island which are thinly inhabited: he that has once known how many trades every man in such situations is compelled to exercise, with how much labour the products of nature must be accommodated to human use, how long the loss or defect of any common utensil must be endured, or by what awkward expedients it must be supplied, how far men may wander with money in their hands before any can sell them what they wish to buy, will know how to rate at its proper value the plenty and ease of a great city.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1753-06-26), The Adventurer, No. 67More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/80433…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #countryside #trade #city #civilization #convenience #happiness #hardwork #luxury #money #purchase #rural #unhappiness #urban
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Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
-- Samuel Johnson -
“In his excitement at the prospect of the examined life Boswell invented modern biography. He wrote like hell, and the full fragrance, the authentic buzz, of his own life and period, such as it was, rises with Flemish exactness from every other sentence he chose to write down.”
—Andrew O’Hagan’s celebration of James Boswell in the London Review of Books, 5 Oct 2000
5/5
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v22/n19/andrew-o-hagan/self-hugging
#Scottish #literature #JamesBoswell #SamuelJohnson #18thCentury #biography
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“A fool can utter a brilliant sentence but it seems quite rare for a fool to be able to write an admirable biography of seven or eight hundred pages”
Jorge Luis Borges asks, was Boswell just a lucky idiot? Or is his “Samuel Johnson” a brilliant literary creation?
4/5
https://www.nybooks.com/online/2013/07/28/lecture-johnson-and-boswell/
#Scottish #literature #JamesBoswell #SamuelJohnson #18thCentury #biography #Borges
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“While in Rome, Boswell posed for a painting […] Above him, an owl perched absurdly on a branch. Somehow the painter captured the mixture of silliness and self-importance that made Boswell so engaging.”
🖼️: George Willison (1741–1797), 1765
3/5
#Scottish #literature #JamesBoswell #SamuelJohnson #18thCentury #biography #art #visualart #portrait