Samuel Johnson

Birth: 1709-09-18 , Lichfield

Death: 1784-12-13 , Londres

Samuel Johnson was a prominent 18th-century English writer, lexicographer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He is widely regarded as one of the most important literary figures in British history, famous for his 'A Dictionary of the English Language'.

9,403

Views

Poems List

How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.

Example is always more efficacious than precept.

Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured, and little to be enjoyed.

Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures.

He [the poet] must write as the interpreter of nature, and the legislator of mankind.

No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes, than a public library.

It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.

I have always suspected that the reading is right, which requires many words to prove it wrong; and the emendation wrong, that cannot without so much labour appear to be right.

Nothing can please many, and please long, but just representations of general nature.

Comments (0)

ShareOn Facebook WhatsApp X

NoComments

Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784) was an English writer who became one of the most celebrated intellectuals of his time. Born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, he struggled with ill health and financial difficulties for much of his life. His most influential work, 'A Dictionary of the English Language' (1755), was a landmark in English lexicography, defining the vocabulary and spelling of the language. Johnson also produced insightful essays, sermons, poems, and biographies, including 'Lives of the Poets'. He was a central figure in London's literary circles, known for his sharp wit, brilliant conversation, and strong opinions. His life and work were immortalized in James Boswell's 'Life of Samuel Johnson', one of the most important biographies in English literature.