Samuel Johnson1709–1784I am a great friend to public amusements; for they keep people from vice.
Life of Johnson (Boswell) (1772)Gratitude is a fruit of great cultivation; you do not find it among gross people.
The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (1785) (20 September 1773)Wickedness is always easier than virtue; for it takes the short cut to everything.
The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (1785) (17 September 1773)Sir, I have found you an argument; but I am not obliged to find you an understanding.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol IV (June 1784) p. 545Every quotation contributes something to the stability or enlargement of the language.
A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), PrefaceCuriosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.
The Rambler (1750–1752), No. 103 (12 March 1751)His conversation does not show the minute-hand, but he strikes the hour very correctly.
Kearsley, 604Knowledge is more than equivalent to force. The master of mechanicks laughs at strength.
The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759), Ch. XIIII never take a nap after dinner but when I have had a bad night; and then the nap takes me.
Life of Johnson (Boswell) (1775)Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those whom we cannot resemble.
The Rambler (1750–1752), No. 135 (2 July 1751)The true, strong, and sound mind is the mind that can embrace equally great things and small.
Life of Johnson (Boswell) (1778)Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth, by calling imagination to the help of reason.
Lives of the English Poets (1779–81)OATS — A grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.
A Dictionary of the English Language (1755)When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol III (20 September 1777) p. 356- Anecdotes of Samuel Johnson (1786), p. 111
