We would all be idle if we could.

Samuel Johnson

Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D, by James Boswell

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More information about this quote

Topic

Laziness Idleness Human nature

Speaker

Samuel Johnson

Author

James Boswell

Source

The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D

Genre

Biography

Language

English

Time

1776 1770s 18th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Occupation

Writer

From

United Kingdom Europe

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in journal entry, written by James Boswell. 3 Apr. 1776.

Current Citation

Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, written by James Boswell, edited by David Womersley. Penguin Classics, 2008.

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A quote by Samuel Johnson about laziness: “We would all be idle if we could.”
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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 James Boswell

The triumph of hope over experience.

Samuel Johnson

Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D, by James Boswell

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More information about this quote
Topic
Wishful thinking Second marriage
Speaker
Samuel Johnson

Author

James Boswell
Source
The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D
Genre
Biography
Language
English
Time
1784 1780s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D, written by James Boswell. Vol. 1, London: Charles Dilly, 1791, "1770," aetat. 61.

Current Citation

Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, written by James Boswell, edited by David Womersley. Penguin Classics, 2008.

Another quote from the 1770s

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

Amazing Grace

Read the lyrics to this hymn at hymnary.org
More information about this quote
Topic
Salvation Grace

Author

John Newton
Source
Amazing Grace
Medium
Hymn Song
Language
English
Time
1779 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Newton, John. 'Faith's Review and Expectation." Olney Hymns. London: W. Oliver, 1779.

Another quote about Human nature

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

Walt Whitman

Song of Myself

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More information about this quote
Topic
Contradiction Inconsistency Human nature

Author

Walt Whitman
Source
Song of Myself Leaves of Grass
Medium
Poem
Language
English
Time
1855 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 0
Original Citation

Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn, New York: Self-published, 1855, poem 1.

Current Citation

Whitman, Walt. "Song of Myself." Leaves of Grass and Other Writings. W. W. Norton & Company, 2002, sect. 51.

Another quote from 1776

When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.

Thomas Paine

Common Sense

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Topic
Anti-monarchism Political theory

Author

Thomas Paine
Source
Common Sense
Medium
Pamphlet
Genre
Political literature
Language
English
Time
1776 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Paine, Thomas [published anonymously]. Common Sense. Philadelphia: R. Bell, sect. 4.

Current Citation

Paine, Thomas. "Common Sense." Rights of Man, Common Sense, and Other Political Writings, edited by Mark Philp. Oxford University Press, 2009, sect. 4.

Another quote from Age of Enlightenment

I think, therefore I am.

René Descartes

Discourse on Method

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More information about this quote
Topic
Nature of man

Author

René Descartes
Source
Discourse on Method
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
French
Time
1637 1630s 17th century
Era
Age of Enlightenment
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Descartes, René [published anonymously]. Discours de la Méthode: Pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercher la vérité dans les sciences [Discourse on Method: To Conduct Reason Well, and Seek Truth in the Sciences]. Leiden, 1637, pt. 4.

Current Citation

Descartes, René. Discourse on the Method, translated by Ian Maclean. Oxford University Press, 2008, pt. 4.