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Joseph Addison Quotes - Page 23

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

But in all despotic governments, though a particular prince may favour arts and letter, there is a natural degeneracy of mankind.

But in all despotic governments, though a particular prince may favour arts and letter, there is a natural degeneracy of mankind.

Art, Government, Letters

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1852). “The Spectator”, p.327

Our forefathers looked upon nature with more reverence and horror, before the world was enlightened by learning and philosophy, and loved to astonish themselves with the apprehensions of witchcraft, prodigies, charms, and inchantments. There was not a village in England that had not a ghost in it, the church-yards were all haunted, every large common had a circle of fairies belonging to it, and there was scarce a shepherd to be met with who had not seen a spirit.

Philosophy, Circles, Church

Richard Steele, Joseph Addison (1801). “The Spectator”, p.183

The schoolboy counts the time till the return of the holidays; the minor longs to be of age; the lover is impatient till he is married.

Holiday, Age, Return

I always rejoice when I see a tribunal filled with a man of an upright and inflexible temper, who in the execution of his country's laws can overcome all private fear, resentment, solicitation, and even pity itself.

Country, Men, Justice

Joseph Addison (1858). “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.329

Advertisements are of great use to the vulgar. First of all, as they are instruments of ambition. A man that is by no means big enough for the Gazette, may easily creep into the advertisements; by which means we often see an apothecary in the same paper of news with a plenipotentiary, or a running footman with an ambassador.

Running, Ambition, Mean

Joseph Addison (1811). “The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison”, p.400

An opera may be allowed to be extravagantly lavish in its decorations, as its only design is to gratify the senses and keep up an indolent attention in the audience.

Design, Attention, May

Joseph Addison, Richard Steele (1853). “The Spectator”, p.16

Virtue which shuns, the day.

Modesty, Virtue

Joseph Addison (1733). “Cato: A Tragedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane, by His Majesty's Servants”, p.45

Authors have established it as a kind of rule, that a man ought to be dull sometimes; as the most severe reader makes allowances for many rests and nodding-places in a voluminous writer.

Kindness, Men, Dull

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1853). “The Spectator”, p.160

A reader seldom peruses a book with pleasure until he knows whether the writer of it be a black man or a fair man, of a mild or choleric disposition, married or a bachelor.

Book, Men, Black

'The Spectator' no. 1, 1 March 1711

A woman seldom asks advice before she has bought her wedding clothes.

Marriage, Wedding, Women

'The Spectator' no. 475, 4 September 1712

Why, a spirit is such a little, little thing, that I have heard man, who was a great scholar, say that he'll dance ye a hornpipe upon the point of a needle.

Men, Littles, Spirit

Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, George Farquhar, Mr. Ambrose Philips (1750). “A Select Collection of the Best Modern English Plays: Vol. IV.”, p.29

This party spirit has so ill an effect on our morals, it has likewise a very great one upon our judgments.

Party, Moral, Spirit

Joseph Addison (1749). “The Spectator”, p.170

Music religious heat inspires, It wakes the soul, and lifts it high, And wings it with sublime desires, And fits it to bespeak the Deity.

Music, Religious, Wings

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.425

A cheerful temper, joined with innocence will make beauty attractive, knowledge delightful, and wit good-natured.

Cheerful, Innocence, Attractive

Joseph Addison (1856). “The works of ... Joseph Addison, with notes by R. Hurd”, p.153

God discovers the martyr and confessor without the trial of flames and tortures, and will hereafter entitle many to the reward of actions which they had never the opportunity of performing.

Opportunity, Flames, Trials

The sense of honour is of so fine and delicate a nature, that it is only to be met with in minds which are naturally noble, or in such as have been cultivated by good examples, or a refined education.

Honor, Mind, Example

Joseph Addison (1839). “Essays, Moral and Humorous: Also Essays on Imagination and Taste”, p.183

Eternity! thou pleasing dreadful thought! Through what variety of untried being, Through what new scenes and changes must we pass!

Eternity, Scene, Variety

Joseph Addison (1764). “The Evidences of the Christian Religion: With Additional Discourses on the Following Subjects, Viz. Of God, and His Attributes, The Power and Wisdom of God in the Creation, The Providence of God, The Worship of God, Advantages of Revelation Above Natural Reason, Excellency of the Christian Institution, Dignity of the Scripture Language, Against Atheism and Infidelity, Against the Modern Free-thinkers, Immortality of the Soul, and a Future State, Death and Judgment”, p.251

Men naturally warm and heady are transported with the greatest flush of good-nature.

Men, Good Nature, Good Humor

Most of our fellow-subjects are guided either by the prejudice of education or by a deference to the judgment of those who perhaps in their own hearts disapprove the opinions which they industriously spread among the multitude.

Heart, Prejudice, Opinion

Joseph Addison (1858). “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.258

We are apt to rely upon future prospects, and become really expensive while we are only rich in possibility. We live up to our expectations, not to our possessions, and make a figure proportionable to what we may be, not what we are.

Rely Upon, Expectations, May

Joseph Addison, Richard Steele (1854). “The Spectator”, p.123

By anticipation we sugar misery and enjoy happiness before they are in being. We can set the sun and stars forward, or lose sight of them by wandering into those retired parts of eternity when the heavens and earth shall be no more.

Stars, Sight, Heaven

There is a kind of grandeur and respect which the meanest and most insignificant part of mankind endeavor to procure in the little circle of their friends and acquaintance. The poorest mechanic, nay, the man who lives upon common alms, gets him his set of admirers, and delights in that superiority which he enjoys over those who are in some respects beneath him. This ambition, which is natural to the soul of man, might, methinks, receive a very happy turn; and, if it were rightly directed, contribute as much to a person's advantage, as it generally does to his uneasiness and disquiet.

Ambition, Men, Circles

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1819). “The Spectator”, p.20

The ungrown glories of his beamy hair.

Hair, Glory

Joseph Addison (1868). “The Works of Joseph Addison: Including the Whole Contents of Bp. Hurd's Edition, with Letters and Other Pieces Not Found in Any Previous Collection; and Macaulay's Essay on His Life and Works”, p.72

When I read the rules of criticism, I immediately inquire after the works of the author who has written them, and by that means discover what it is he likes in a composition.

Mean, Criticism, Likes

Joseph Addison (1872). “The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison”, p.221

Heaven is not to be looked upon only as the reward, but the natural effect, of a religious life.

Religious, Heaven, Rewards

Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1854). “The Spectator: with a biographical and critical preface, and explanatory notes”, p.373

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