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Joseph Addison Quotes - Page 15

All Quotes Affection Age Ambition Appearance Art Atheism Beauty Bravery Character Children Community Compassion Contentment Country Courage Criticism Critics Death Design Desire Destiny Earth Education Enthusiasm Eternity Evil Exercise Fame Fate Flattery Friends Friendship Funny Genius Giving Glory God Gold Gratitude Greatness Grief Happiness Health Heart Heaven Honesty Honor Hope Human Nature Humanity Humility Husband Imagination Imperfection Innocence Inspirational Inspiring Judgment Justice Kindness Knowledge Laughter Liberty Life Life And Death Literature Losing Love Lying Mankind Marriage Modesty Morality Mountain Music Nature Opportunity Pain Passion Perfection Philosophy Plato Praise Prejudice Pride Prosperity Quality Reading Religion Running Safety Satire Science Serenity Silence Sorrow Soul Success Suffering Sunshine Talent Time Tragedy Understanding Violence Virtue War Weakness Wine Wisdom Wit Work Writing

The most exquisite words and finest strokes of an author are those which very often appear the most doubtful and exceptionable to a man who wants a relish for polite learning; and they are those which a sour

The most exquisite words and finest strokes of an author are those which very often appear the most doubtful and exceptionable to a man who wants a relish for polite learning; and they are those which a sour undistinguishing critic generally attacks with the greatest violence.

Men, Want, Violence

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1852). “The Spectator”, p.331

Every man in the time of courtship and in the first entrance of marriage, puts on a behavior like my correspondent's holiday suit.

Holiday, Men, Firsts

Joseph Addison (1856). “The works of ... Joseph Addison, with notes by R. Hurd”, p.217

An honest man, that is not quite sober, has nothing to fear.

Men, Honest, Sober

Joseph Addison, Henry George Bohn, Richard Hurd (1877). “The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison”, p.160

If I can in any way contribute to the Diversion or Improvement of the Country in which I live, I shall leave it, when I am summoned out of it, with the secret Satisfaction of thinking that I have not lived in vain.

Country, Thinking, Secret

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1853). “The Spectator: With a Biographical and Critical Preface, and Explanatory Notes ...”, p.3

I never knew a critic who made it his business to lash the faults of other writers that was not guilty of greater himself--as the hangman is generally a worse malefactor than the criminal that suffers by his hand.

Hands, Suffering, Criminals

Joseph Addison (1804). “The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison”, p.457

Hudibras has defined nonsense, as Cowley does wit, by negatives. Nonsense, he says, is that which is neither true nor false. These two great properties of nonsense, which are always essential to it, give it such a peculiar advantage over all other writings, that it is incapable of being either answered or contradicted.

Writing, Two, Giving

Joseph Addison (1853). “Works, Including the Whole Contents of Bp. Hurd's Edition: Withletters and Other Pieces Not Found in Any Previous Collection; and Macaulay's Essay on His Life and Works”, p.624

A thousand glorious actions that might claim Triumphant laurels, and immortal fame, Confus'd in crowds of glorious actions lie, And troops of heroes undistinguished die.

Lying, War, Hero

Joseph Addison (1856). “The works of Joseph Addison: including the whole contents of B. Hurd's edition, with letters and other pieces not found in any previous collection, and Macaulay's essay on his life and works”, p.189

The memory is perpetually looking back when we have nothing present to entertain us. It is like those repositories in animals that are filled with food, on which they may ruminate when their present pastures fail.

Memories, Animal, May

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1860). “The Spectator: A New Edition”, p.563

Must one rash word, the infirmity of age, throw down the merit of my better years?

Years, Age, Merit

Joseph Addison, Henry George Bohn, Richard Hurd (1856). “The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison: Poems on several occasions. Poemata. Dialogues upon the usefulness of ancient medals, especially in relation to the Latin and Greek poets. Remarks on several parts of Italy, in the years 1701, 1702, 1703”, p.197

To look upon the soul as going on from strength to strength, to consider that she is to shine forever with new accessions of glory, and brighten to all eternity; that she will be still adding virtue to virtue, and knowledge to knowledge,--carries in it something wonderfully agreeable to that ambition which is natural to the mind of man.

Ambition, Men, Forever

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1853). “The Spectator: With a Biographical and Critical Preface, and Explanatory Notes ...”, p.356

Sir Francis Bacon observed that a well-written book, compared with its rivals and antagonists, is like Moses' serpent, that immediately swallowed up and devoured those of the Egyptians.

Book, Style, Rivals

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1852). “The Spectator”, p.15

The intelligence of affection is carried on by the eye only; good-breeding has made the tongue falsify the heart, and act a part of continued restraint, while nature has preserved the eyes to herself, that she may not be disguised or misrepresented.

Heart, Eye, May

Fame is a good so wholly foreign to our natures that we have no faculty in the soul adapted to it, nor any organ in the body to relish it; an object of desire placed out of the possibility of fruition.

Soul, Desire, Fruition

Richard Steele, Joseph Addison (1728). “The Spectator”, p.22

Oh, Liberty! thou goddess heavenly bright! Profuse of bliss, and pregnant with delight! Eternal pleasures in thy presence reign, And smiling plenty leads thy wanton train.

Freedom, Liberty, Delight

Joseph Addison, H. Baldwin (imp.) (1779). “The Works of the English Poets”, p.44

It is folly to seek the approbation of any being besides the Supreme.

God, Folly, Supreme

The soul, considered with its Creator, is like one of those mathematical lines that may draw nearer to another for all eternity without a possibility of touching it; and can there be a thought so transporting as to consider ourselves in these perpetual approaches to Him, who is not only the standard of perfection, but of happiness?

Perfection, Soul, Touching

Joseph Addison (1839). “Essays, Moral and Humorous: Also Essays on Imagination and Taste”, p.52

A man must be excessively stupid, as well as uncharitable, who believes that there is no virtue but on his own side, and that there are not men as honest as himself who may differ from him in political principles.

Stupid, Believe, Men

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1853). “The Spectator”, p.217

I'm weary of conjectures, - this must end 'em. Thus am I doubly armed: my death and life, My bane and antidote, are both before me: This in a moment brings me to an end; But this informs me I shall never die. The soul, secured in her existence, smiles At the drawn dagger, and defies its point. The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years; But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amidst the war of elements, The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds.

Life, Crush, Stars

"Cato, A Tragedy". Play by Joseph Addison, 1713.

If men, who in their hearts are friends to a government, forbear giving it their utmost assistance against its enemies, they put it in the power of a few desperate men to ruin the welfare of those who are much superior to them in strength, number, and interest.

Heart, Men, Numbers

Joseph Addison (1837). “The Tatler. The Guardian. The Freeholder. The Whig-examiner. The lover. Dialogues upon the usefulness of ancient medals. Remarks on several parts of Italy, etc. The present state of the war. The late trial and conviction of Count Tariff. The evidences of the Christian religion. Essay on Virgil's Georgics. Poems on several occasions. Translations from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Notes on some of the foregoing stories in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Poemata. Rosamond. Cato. The drummer”, p.194

I have often wondered that learning is not thought a proper ingredient in the education of a woman of quality or fortune. Since they have the same improvable minds as the male part of their species.

Women, Mind, Quality

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1826). “The Guardian: With a Biographical, Historical, and Critical Preface by the Rev. Rob. Lynam”, p.221

Health and happiness give rise to each other.

Giving

The statue lies hid in a block of marble; and the art of the statuary only clears away the superfluous matter, and removes the rubbish.

Art, Lying, Block

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1853). “The Spectator”, p.82

A jealous man is very quick in his application: he knows how to find a double edge in an invective, and to draw a satire on himself out of a panegyrick on another.

Jealous, Men, Envy

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1753). “The Beauties of the Spectators, Tatlers, and Guardians: Connected and Digested Under Alphabetical Heads”, p.199

The Fear of Death often proves Mortal.

Death, Fear Of Death, Prove

Joseph Addison (1721). “Remarks on several parts of Italy , &c in the years 1701, 1702, 1703. The Tatler. By Isaac Bickerstaffe, esq. The Spectator, no.1-89”, p.458

Nations with nations mix'd confus'dly die, and lost in one promiscuous carnage lie.

War, Lying, Lost

Joseph Addison, Richard Hurd (1811). “Cato. Dialogue on medals. Essay on Virgil's Georgies. Poemata. Poems on several occasions. Rosamond; an opera. Story of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus”, p.57

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