All Quotes

"A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most real blessings or misfortunes."

"Mutability of temper and inconsistency with ourselves is the greatest weakness of human nature."

"The circumstance which gives authors an advantage above all these great masters, is this, that they can multiply their originals; or rather, can make copies of their works, to what number they please, which shall be as valuable as the originals themselves."

"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."

"Man is subject to innumerable pains and sorrows by the very condition of humanity, and yet, as if nature had not sown evils enough in life, we are continually adding grief to grief, and aggravating the common calamity by our cruel treatment of one another."

"Good nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit, and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty."

"I have somewhere met with the epitaph of a charitable man, which has very much pleased me. I cannot recollect the words, but the sense of it is to this purpose; What I spent I lost; what I possessed is left to others; what I gave away remains with me."

"I would fain ask one of these bigotted Infidels, supposing all the great Points of Atheism … were laid together and formed into a kind of Creed, according to the Opinions of the most celebrated Atheists; I say, supposing such a Creed as this were formed, and imposed upon any one People in the World, whether it would not require an infinitely greater Measure of Faith, than any Set of Articles which they so violently oppose."

"The man who will live above his present circumstances is in great danger of living in a little time much beneath them; or as the Italian proverb runs, "The man who lives by hope, will die by hunger.""

"Were I to prescribe a rule for drinking, it should be formed upon a saying quoted by Sir William Temple: the first glass for myself, the second for my friends, the third for good humor, and the fourth for mine enemies."

"I consider an human soul without education like marble in the quarry, which shews none of its inherent beauties till the skill of the polisher fetches out the colours, makes the surface shine, and discovers every ornamental cloud, spot and vein that runs through the body of it."

"What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul."

"Discretion is a perfection of reason, and a guide to us in all the duties of life."

"A just and reasonable modesty does not only recommend eloquence, but sets off every great talent which a man can be possessed of."

"Mere bashfulness without merit is awkward; and merit without modesty, insolent. But modest merit has a double claim to acceptance, and generally meets with as many patrons as beholders."

"Modesty is not only an ornament, but also a guard to virtue."

"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."

"What an absurd thing it is to pass over all the valuable parts of a man, and fix our attention on his infirmities."

"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."

"Admiration is a very short-lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object, unless it be still fed with fresh discoveries, and kept alive by a new perpetual succession of miracles rising up to its view."

"Ambition raises a secret tumult in the soul, it inflames the mind, and puts it into a violent hurry of thought."

"Some virtues are only seen in affliction and some in prosperity."

"I have often thought, says Sir Roger, it happens very well that Christmas should fall out in the Middle of the Winter"

"A true critic ought to dwell rather upon excellencies than imperfections, to discover the concealed beauties of a writer, and communicate to the world such things as are worth their observation."

"These widows, sir, are the most perverse creatures in the world."

"Death only closes a Man's Reputation, and determines it as good or bad."

"Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity."

"Sir Roger made several reflections on the greatness of the British Nation; as, that one Englishman could beat three Frenchmen; that we could never be in danger of Popery so long as we took care of our fleet; that the Thames was the noblest river in Europe...with many other honest prejudices which naturally cleave to the heart of a true Englishman."

"Cheerfulness is...the best promoter of health."

"Health and cheerfulness mutually beget each other."

"Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed."

"The Lord my pasture shall prepare, And feed me with a shepherd's care; His presence shall my wants supply, And guard me with a watchful eye."

"Our delight in any particular study, art, or science rises and improves in proportion to the application which we bestow upon it. Thus, what was at first an exercise becomes at length an entertainment."

"When all thy mercies, O my God, My rising soul surveys, Transported with the view, I'm lost In wonder, love and praise."

"The spacious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky, And spangled heavens, a shining frame, Their great Original proclaim."

"Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tale, And nightly to the listening earth Repeats the story of her birth; While all the stars that round her burn, And all the planets in their turn, Confirm the tidings as they roll, And spread the truth from pole to pole."

"What though no real voice nor sound Amid their radiant orbs be found ; In reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice, Forever singing as they shine, "The Hand that made us divine.""

"A woman seldom asks advice before she has bought her wedding clothes."

"Method is not less requisite in ordinary conversation than in writing, provided a man would talk to make himself understood."

"Our disputants put me in mind of the skuttle fish, that when he is unable to extricate himself, blackens all the water about him, till he becomes invisible."

"Irregularity and want of method are only supportable in men of great learning or genius, who are often too full to be exact, and therefore choose to throw down their pearls in heaps before the reader, rather than be at the pains of stringing them."

"I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs."

"The fraternity of the henpecked."

"If we may believe our logicians, man is distinguished from all other creatures by the faculty of laughter."

"There is nothing which we receive with so much reluctance as advice."

"If we hope for what we are not likely to possess, we act and think in vain, and make life a greater dream and shadow than it really is."

"An ostentatious man will rather relate a blunder or an absurdity he has committed, than be debarred from talking of his own dear person."

"A man should always consider how much he has more than he wants."

"Upon the whole, a contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world."

"We are always doing something for Posterity, but I would fain see Posterity do something for us."