The quotations of

Joseph Addison

English essayist, poet, playwright and politician

1672–1719

51 quotes, most often on Life & Death, Character and Virtue.

A just and reasonable modesty does not only recommend eloquence, but sets off every great talent which a man can be possessed of.
The Spectator (1711–1714), No. 231 (24 November 1711)
- Character
Eternity! thou pleasing dreadful thought!
Through what variety of untried being,
Through what new scenes and changes must we pass!
Cato, A Tragedy (1713)
- Life & Death
- Time
Silence never shows itself to so great an advantage, as when it is made the reply to calumny and defamation, provided that we give no just occasion for them.
The Tatler, No. 133 (14 February 1710)
- Talking
When I read the rules of criticism, I immediately inquire after the works of the author who has written them, and by that means discover what it is he likes in a composition.
The Guardian (1713), No. 115
- Writing
Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind, which are delivered down from generation to generation, as presents to the posterity of those who are yet unborn.
The Spectator (1711–1714), No. 166 (10 September 1711)
- Genius
- Reading
Were not this desire of fame very strong, the difficulty of obtaining it, and the danger of losing it when obtained, would be sufficient to deter a man from so vain a pursuit.
The Spectator (1711–1714), No. 255 (22 December 1711)
- Fame
The great art in writing advertisements is the finding out a proper method to catch the reader’s eye; without which a good thing may pass over unobserved, or be lost among commissions of bankrupt.
The Tatler, No. 224 (14 September 1710)
- Business
- Writing
True happiness is of a retired nature, and an enemy to pomp and noise; it arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one’s self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions.
The Spectator (1711–1714), No. 15 (March 17, 1711)
- Friendship
- Happiness
I shall endeavor to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality.
The Spectator (1711–1714), No. 10 (11 March 1711)
- Humor
- Morality
If I can any way contribute to the diversion or improvement of the country in which I live, I shall leave it, when I am summoned out of it, with the secret satisfaction of thinking that I have not lived in vain.
The Spectator (1711–1714), No. 1 (1 March 1711)
- Life & Death
A man must be excessively stupid, as well as uncharitable, who believes that there is no virtue but on his own side, and that there are not men as honest as himself who may differ from him in political principles.
The Spectator (1711–1714), No. 243 (8 December 1711)
- Politics
A man’s first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart; his next to escape the censures of the world.
The Spectator, No. 122 (20 July 1711)
- Character
- Morality
‘Tis heaven itself, that points out an hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man.
Cato, A Tragedy (1713)
- Life & Death
At the same time that I think discretion the most useful talent a man can be master of, I look upon cunning to be the accomplishment of little, mean, ungenerous minds.
The Spectator, No. 225 (17 November 1711)
- Character
- Wisdom
Great souls by instinct to each other turn,
Demand alliance, and in friendship burn
The Campaign (1704), Line 101
- Friendship

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