Few enterprises of great labor or hazard would be undertaken if we had not the power of magnifying the advantages we expect from them. – 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 man ought to read just as inclination leads him, for what he reads as a task will do him little good. – Samuel Johnson
Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured, and little to be enjoyed. – Samuel Johnson
Money and time are the heaviest burdens of life, and… the unhappiest of all mortals are those who have more of either than they know how to use. – Samuel Johnson
I would not give half a guinea to live under one form of government other than another. It is of no moment to the happiness of an individual. – Samuel Johnson
A wise man is cured of ambition by ambition itself; his aim is so exalted that riches, office, fortune and favour cannot satisfy him. – Samuel Johnson
In order that all men may be taught to speak the truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it. – Samuel Johnson
Between falsehood and useless truth there is little difference. As gold which he cannot spend will make no man rich, so knowledge which cannot apply will make no man wise. – Samuel Johnson
When any calamity has been suffered the first thing to be remembered is, how much has been escaped. – Samuel Johnson
You can’t be in politics unless you can walk in a room and know in a minute who’s for you and who’s against you. – Samuel Johnson
Almost every man wastes part of his life attempting to display qualities which he does not possess. – Samuel Johnson
We are long before we are convinced that happiness is never to be found, and each believes it possessed by others, to keep alive the hope of obtaining it for himself. – Samuel Johnson
When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully. – Samuel Johnson
There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain. – Samuel Johnson
Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect. – Samuel Johnson