Samuel Johnson, (a/k/a Dr. Johnson), (1709-1784), British author. Quotes

To hear complaints is wearisome to the wretched and the happy alike.

That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own esteem.

There mark what ills the scholar's life; assail, toil, envy, want, and patron.

The present time is seldom able to fill desire or imagination with immediate enjoyment, and we are forced to supply its deficiencies by recollection or anticipation.

Present opportunities are neglected, and attainable good is slighted, by minds busied in extensive ranges and intent upon future advantages.

No mind is much employed upon the present; recollection and anticipation fill up almost all our moments.

It seems to be the fate of man to seek all his consolations in futurity.

I had rather see the portrait of a dog that I know than all the allegorical paintings they can show me in the world.

I found your essay to be good and original; however, the part that was original was not good, and the part that was good was not original.

By taking a second wife he pays the highest compliment to the first: showing that she made him so happy as a married man, that he wishes to be so a second time.