He that compares what he has done with what he has left undone, will feel the effect which must always follow the comparison of imagination with reality; he will look with contempt on his own unimportance, and wonder to what purpose he came into the world; he will repine that he shall leave behind him no evidence of his having been, that he has added nothing to the system of life, but has glided from youth to age among the crowd, without any effort for distinction. β¨ Samuel Johnson (1810). Works, p.355
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- Some people have a foolish way of not minding, or pretending not to mind, what they eat. For my part, I mind my belly very studiously, and very carefully; for I look upon it, that he who does not min β¦ βΆ
- The usual fortune of complaint is to excite contempt more than pity. β¨ Samuel Johnson, Hester Lynch Piozzi, James Boswell (1787). The Beauties of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: Consisting of Maxims and Obser β¦ βΆ
- It is a most mortifying reflection for a man to consider what he has done, compared to what he might have done.
- Exactness is first obtained, and afterwards elegance. But diction, merely vocal, is always in its childhood. As no man leaves his eloquence behind him, the new generations have all to learn. There ma β¦ βΆ
- Long customs are not easily broken; he that attempts to change the course of his own life very often labors in vain; and how shall we do that for others, which we are seldom able to do for ourselves. β¦ βΆ
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