Samuel Johnson1709–1784The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
Sex: the expense is damnable, the position is ridiculous, and the pleasure fleeting.
- Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol II (1770) p. 182
- Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol II (18 April 1775) p. 258
- Letter (8 June 1762) [to an unnamed recipient], p. 103
- Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol I (1755), p. 83
- Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol III (5 April 1776) p. 302
A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol II (1770) p. 182Life is a pill which none of us can bear to swallow without gilding.
- Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol I (21 December 1762)
- An Introduction to the Political State of Great Britain
- Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol II (7 April 1775) p. 253
- Anecdotes of Samuel Johnson (1786), p. 252
Often credited to Samuel Johnson
Quotes often credited to Samuel Johnson that were said or written by someone else.
- ?UnattributedAs repeated by Samuel Johnson in Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol II (14 April 1775); an older proverb (George Herbert, 1640: “Hell is full of good meanings and wishings”)Often credited to Samuel Johnson
