Samuel Johnson Quotes About Wisdom

• He that would be superior to external influences must first become superior to his own passions.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Courage, Passion

  Samuel Johnson (1825). “The works of Samuel Johnson [ed. by F.P. Walesby].”, p.304

• It is better to live rich than to die rich.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Retirement, Riches

  James Boswell, Samuel Johnson, Edmond Malone (1824). “The life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D., comprehending an account of his studies, and numerous works, in chronological order: a series of his epistolary correspondence and conversations with many eminent persons; and various original pieces of his composition, never before published; the whole exhibiting a view of literature and literary men in Great Britain, for near half a century during which he flourished”, p.291

• Between falsehood and useless truth there is little difference. As gold which he cannot spend will make no man rich, so knowledge which cannot apply will make no man wise.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wise, Wisdom, Knowledge

  Samuel Johnson, Elizabeth Carter, Samuel Richardson, Catherine Talbot (1825). “The Rambler: A Periodical Paper, Published in 1750, 1751, 1752”

• In order that all men might be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Truth, Learning

  Samuel Johnson (1782). “The Beauties of Johnson: Consisting of Maxims and Observations, Moral, Critical, and Miscellaneous, Accurately Extracted from the Works of Dr. Samuel Johnson, and Arranged in Alphabetical Order, After the Manner of the Duke de la Roche-Foucault's Maxims”, p.69

• It is a most mortifying reflection for a man to consider what he has done, compared to what he might have done.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Reflection, Men

• The law is the last result of human wisdom acting upon human experience for the benefit of the public.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Law, Acting

  Quoted in Heather Lynch Piozzi, Anecdotes of ...Johnson (1786)

• To keep your secret is wisdom; but to expect others to keep it is folly.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Keeping Secrets, Kept Secrets

• The next best thing to knowing something is knowing where to find it.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Knowledge, Knowing

• The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Writing, Procrastination

  Statement on April 14, 1775. "Life of Samuel Johnson". Book by James Boswell. Volume II, 1791.

• All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Freedom, Free Will

• There is no wisdom in useless and hopeless sorrow.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Sorrow, Useless

  Samuel Johnson (1816). “A Diary of a Journey Into North Wales, in the Year 1774”, p.152

• In questions of law or of fact conscience is very often confounded with opinion. No man's conscience can tell him the rights of another man; they must be known by rational investigation or historical inquiry.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Men, Rights

  Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy (1832). “The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.: With an Essay on His Life and Genius”, p.587

• The inevitable consequence of poverty is dependence.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Politics, Poverty

  Samuel Johnson, Roger H. Lonsdale (2006). “Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Poets”, p.117, Oxford University Press

• Courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you haven't courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others.

  Samuel Johnson

  Positive, Leadership, Wisdom

• He is no wise man who will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wise, Wisdom, Men

  Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy, Alexander Chalmers (1810). “The idler”, p.229

You May Also Like:

James Boswell

Dick Clark

Alexander Pope

Joshua Reynolds

John Milton

Jonathan Swift

Oliver Goldsmith