Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) was an English poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer, and his writings have lasted the test of time. He has been called “the most distinguished man of letters in English history” (The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). His most notable work is “A Dictionary of the English Language” (1755), though he was a prolific writer in every expression of the craft.
Based on biographies by those who knew him, such as his friend, James Boswell, his mannerisms and behaviours were so well documented that a posthumous diagnosis of Tourette’s Syndrome can be attributed to him. The most famous portrait of Johnson is the one above, painted by Joshua Reynolds, with whom he founded The Literary Club in 1764. The club would meet regularly, and included members from the literary and historical disciplines; membership was by unanimous election only; if a nominee was undesirable, a member could submit a black ball (white and black balls were likely deposited in an urn to keep the vote confidential). The term “to blackball someone” arose in 1770, and it means “to exclude from a club by adverse votes”. It may have originated at this club or simply have been a general practice employed in clubs and societies around this time.
So, without further ado, here are 10 quotes by Dr Johnson:
“I know not, Madam, that you have a right, upon moral principles, to make your readers suffer so much.”
“I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read.”
“It is better to live rich than to die rich.”
“No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned. … A man in a jail has more room, better food and commonly better company.” (Boswell’s Life of Johnson)
“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”
“The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.”
“Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.”
“In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it.”
“When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”
“The superiority of some men is merely local. They are great because their associates are little.”
Stephanie Huesler 