Samuel Johnson

London! the needy villain's general home,
The common sewer of Paris and of Rome!
With eager thirst, read more

London! the needy villain's general home,
The common sewer of Paris and of Rome!
With eager thirst, by folly or by fate,
Sucks in the dregs of each corrupted state.

A man would rather have a hundred lies told of him than one truth which he does not wish should read more

A man would rather have a hundred lies told of him than one truth which he does not wish should be known.

Controversies merely speculative are of small importance in themselves, however they may have sometimes heated a disputant, or provoked a read more

Controversies merely speculative are of small importance in themselves, however they may have sometimes heated a disputant, or provoked a faction

Feast of Lucy, Martyr at Syracuse, 304 Commemoration of Samuel Johnson, Writer, Moralist, 1784 We took tea, by read more

Feast of Lucy, Martyr at Syracuse, 304 Commemoration of Samuel Johnson, Writer, Moralist, 1784 We took tea, by Boswell's desire; and I eat one bun, I think, that I might not be seen to fast ostentatiously. When I find that so much of my life has stolen unprofitably away, and that I can descry by retrospection scarcely a few single days properly and vigorously employed, why do I yet try to resolve again? I try, because reformation is necessary and despair is criminal. I try, in humble hope of the help of God.

Let observation with extensive view,
Survey mankind from China to Peru;
Remark each anxious toil, each eager read more

Let observation with extensive view,
Survey mankind from China to Peru;
Remark each anxious toil, each eager strife,
And watch the busy scenes of crowded life.