Words being arbitrary must owe their power to association, and have the influence, and that only, which custom has given them. Language is the dress of thought.

Samuel Johnson

Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets

More information about this quote

Topic

Meaning of words Words Language

Author

Samuel Johnson

Source

Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets

Genre

Biography

Language

English

Time

1779 1770s 18th century

Occupation

Writer

From

United Kingdom Europe

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Johnson, Samuel. "Cowley." Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets. London, c. 1779.

Current Citation

Johnson, Samuel. "Cowley." The Lives of the Poets: A Selection, edited by Roger Lonsdale. Oxford University Press, 2009.

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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Samuel Johnson

A lawyer has no business with the justice or injustice of the cause which he undertakes, unless his client asks his opinion, and then he is bound to give it honestly. The justice or injustice of the cause is to be decided by the judge.

Samuel Johnson

Quoted in The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, by James Boswell

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More information about this quote
Topic
Lawyers Legal theory
Speaker
Samuel Johnson

Author

James Boswell
Source
The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides
Genre
Travel writing
Language
English
Time
1773 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in journal entry, written by James Boswell. 15 Aug. 1773.

Current Citation

Johnson, Samuel and James Boswell. "The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides." A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and the Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, edited by Jack Lynch and Celia Barnes. Oxford University Press, 2021.

Another quote from the 1770s

If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.

Thomas Paine

The Crisis

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More information about this quote
Topic
American Revolution

Author

Thomas Paine
Source
The Crisis
Medium
Pamphlet
Genre
Political literature
Language
English
Time
1776 1770s 18th century
Era
American Revolutionary Period
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Paine, Thomas. The American Crisis: Number 1. Philadelphia: Styner and Cist, 1776.

Current Citation

Paine, Thomas. "The American Crisis, Number I, December 19, 1776." Common Sense, The Crisis, & Other Writings from the American Revolution. Library of America, 2015.