Samuel Johnson

To shake with laughter ere the jest they hear,
To pour at will the counterfeited tear;
And, read more

To shake with laughter ere the jest they hear,
To pour at will the counterfeited tear;
And, as their patron hints the cold or heat,
To shake in dog-days, in December sweat.

Life is a jest, and all things show it, I thought so once, and now I know it

Life is a jest, and all things show it, I thought so once, and now I know it

That man is little to be envied, whose patriotism would not gain
force upon the plain of Marathon, or read more

That man is little to be envied, whose patriotism would not gain
force upon the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow
warmer among the runs of Iona.

He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition read more

He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life away in fruitless efforts.

While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates. You must wait till it be digested, and then amusement read more

While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates. You must wait till it be digested, and then amusement will dissipate the remains of it.