Samuel Johnson (often referred to as Dr Johnson) (18 September 1709 [O.S. 7 September] – 13 December 1784) was an English author. Beginning as a Grub Street journalist, he made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, novelist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer.

Samuel Johnson Quotes and Sayings

A cucumber should be well-sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out.
- Samuel Johnson

Hope is itself a species of happiness, and, perhaps, the chief happiness which this world affords.
- Samuel Johnson

Men have been wise in many different modes; but they have always laughed the same way.
- Samuel Johnson

Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those who we cannot resemble.
- Samuel Johnson

A man who exposes himself when he is intoxicated, has not the art of getting drunk.
- Samuel Johnson

No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a public library.
- Samuel Johnson

Such seems to be the disposition of man, that whatever makes a distinction produces rivalry.
- Samuel Johnson

A man seldom thinks with more earnestness of anything than he does of his dinner.
- Samuel Johnson

Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.
- Samuel Johnson

It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.
- Samuel Johnson

There are, in every age, new errors to be rectified and new prejudices to be opposed.
- Samuel Johnson

Every man is rich or poor according to the proportion between his desires and his enjoyments.
- Samuel Johnson

Love is the wisdom of the fool and the folly of the wise.
- Samuel Johnson

The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope.
- Samuel Johnson

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.
- Samuel Johnson

Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect
- Samuel Johnson

It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.
- Samuel Johnson

A wise man will make haste to forgive, because he knows the true value of time, and will not suffer it to pass away in unnecessary pain.
- Samuel Johnson

The happiest part of a man’s life is what he passes lying awake in bed in the morning.
- Samuel Johnson

He that will enjoy the brightness of sunshine, must quit the coolness of the shade.
- Samuel Johnson

Bounty always receives part of its value from the manner in which it is bestowed.
- Samuel Johnson

Life is a progress from want to want, not from enjoyment to enjoyment.
- Samuel Johnson

The world is not yet exhausted; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw before.
- Samuel Johnson

Life is not long, and too much of it must not pass in idle deliberation how it shall be spent.
- Samuel Johnson

We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us.
- Samuel Johnson

Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured, and little to be enjoyed.
- Samuel Johnson

Prepare for death, if here at night you roam, and sign your will before you sup from home.
- Samuel Johnson

Agriculture not only gives riches to a nation, but the only riches she can call her own.
- Samuel Johnson

No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of spring.
- Samuel Johnson

Books that you carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are most useful after all.
- Samuel Johnson