Samuel Johnson Quotes About Civility

• When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency.

  Samuel Johnson

  Kindness, Littles, Return

  Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy (1837). “The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.: With an Essay on His Life and Genius /c by Arthur Murphy, Esq”, p.95

• The civilities of the great are never thrown away.

  Samuel Johnson

  Political, Campaigns, Civility

  Samuel Johnson (1782). “The Beauties of Johnson: Consisting of Maxims and Observations, Moral, Critical, and Miscellaneous ... Second Edition, Enlarged and Corrected, Etc”, p.39

• The reciprocal civility of authors is one of the most risible scenes in the farce of life.

  Samuel Johnson

  Farce, Civility, Scene

  Samuel Johnson, Sir John Hawkins (1787). “The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.: The lives of the most eminent English poets, concluded. Miscellaneous lives”, p.585

• Such is the common process of marriage. A youth and maiden exchange meeting by chance, or brought together by artifice, exchange glances, reciprocate civilities, go home, and dream of one another. Having little to divert attention, or diversify thought, they find themselves uneasy when they are apart, and therefore conclude that they shall be happy together. They marry, and discover what nothing but voluntary blindness had before concealed; they wear out life in altercations, and charge nature with cruelty.

  Samuel Johnson

  Marriage, Dream, Home

  Samuel Johnson, Peter Martin (2009). “Samuel Johnson: Selected Writings”, p.310, Harvard University Press

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