Quotes from our old friend, Dr. Samuel Johnson:
I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read.
He who praises everybody praises nobody.
What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.
In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it.
Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.
Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.
[one caveat to note here, is that self-confidence must be not only inherent in one's being, but also must be of accurate indication. False self-confidence, or self-confidence that has no basis in existence, is dangerous and self, or at least, in general, destructive]
Wickedness is always easier than virtue; for it takes the short cut to everything.
The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.
Patriotism having become one of our topicks, Johnson suddenly uttered, in a strong determined tone, an apophthegm, at which many will start: "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." But let it be considered, that he did not mean a real and generous love of our country, but that pretended patriotism which so many, in all ages and countries, have made a cloak of self-interest.
Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.
Pleasure of itself is not a vice.
To hear complaints with patience, even when complaints are vain, is one of the duties of friendship.
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