That he delights in the misery of others no man will confess, and yet what other motive can make a father cruel? – Joseph Addison
A just and reasonable modesty does not only recommend eloquence, but sets off every great talent which a man can be possessed of. – Joseph Addison
Men may change their climate, but they cannot change their nature. A man that goes out a fool cannot ride or sail himself into common sense. – Joseph Addison
The most violent appetites in all creatures are lust and hunger; the first is a perpetual call upon them to propagate their kind, the latter to preserve themselves. – Joseph Addison
A true critic ought to dwell upon excellencies rather than imperfections, to discover the concealed beauties of a writer, and communicate to the world such things as are worth their observation. – Joseph Addison
Admiration is a very short-lived passion, that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object. – Joseph Addison
No oppression is so heavy or lasting as that which is inflicted by the perversion and exorbitance of legal authority. – Joseph Addison
Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass. – Joseph Addison
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. – Joseph Addison
The Mind that lies fallow but a single Day, sprouts up in Follies that are only to be killed by a constant and assiduous Culture. – Joseph Addison
A man must be both stupid and uncharitable who believes there is no virtue or truth but on his own side. – Joseph Addison
An ostentatious man will rather relate a blunder or an absurdity he has committed, than be debarred from talking of his own dear person. – Joseph Addison
A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most recent blessings or misfortunes. – Joseph Addison
Suspicion is not less an enemy to virtue than to happiness; he that is already corrupt is naturally suspicious, and he that becomes suspicious will quickly be corrupt. – Joseph Addison
To be an atheist requires an indefinitely greater measure of faith than to recieve all the great truths which atheism would deny. – Joseph Addison
Courage that grows from constitution often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it; courage which arises from a sense of duty acts; in a uniform manner. – Joseph Addison