The great source of pleasure is variety. Uniformity must tire at last, though it be uniformity of excellence. We love to expect; and when expectation is disappointed or gratified, we want to be again expecting.

Samuel Johnson

More information about this quote

Topic

Variety Anticipation Monotony

Author

Samuel Johnson

Source

Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets

Language

English

Time

1781 1780s 18th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Occupation

Writer

From

United Kingdom Europe

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Johnson, Samuel. "Butler." Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets. London: C. Bathurst, et al., 1781.

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A quote by Samuel Johnson about variety: “The great source of pleasure is variety. Uniformity must tire at last, though it…”
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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

The triumph of hope over experience.

Samuel Johnson

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

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Read The Life of Samuel Johnson at Project Gutenberg
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 1780s

Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made.

Immanuel Kant

More information about this quote
Topic
Imperfection Human nature

Author

Immanuel Kant
Source
Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose
Medium
Essay
Genre
Philosophical literature
Statement Type
Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
German
Time
1784 1780s 18th century
Era
Age of Enlightenment
Authentication Score 2
Citation

Kant, Immanuel. "Idee zu einer allgemeinen Geschichte in weltbürgerlicher Absicht [Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose]." Berlinische Monatsschrift, Nov. 1784.

Another quote from Age of Enlightenment

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.

Alexander Pope

An Essay on Criticism

Read An Essay on Criticism at Poetry Foundation
More information about this quote
Topic
Downsides of education Education Ignorance

Author

Alexander Pope
Source
An Essay on Criticism
Medium
Poem
Language
English
Time
1711 1710s 18th century
Era
Age of Enlightenment
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Pope, Alexander, [published anonymously]. "An Essay on Criticism." London: W. Lewis, 1711, pt. 2, l. 215-218.

Current Citation

Pope, Alexander. "An Essay on Criticism." Alexander Pope: The Major Works, edited by Pat Rogers. Oxford University Press, 2009, pt. 2, I. 215-218.