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Samuel Johnson's Essays

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Samuel Johnson's Essays

Monthly Archives: May 1750

No. 21. The anxieties of literature not less than those of publick stations. The inequality of authors’ writings.

May 29, 1750

Every man is prompted by the love of himself to imagine, that he possesses some qualities, superior, either in kind or in degree, to those which he sees allotted to the rest of the world

No. 20. The folly and inconvenience of affectation.

May 26, 1750

Affectation is to be always distinguished from hypocrisy, as being the art of counterfeiting those qualities which we might be known to want.

No. 19. The danger of ranging from one study to another. The importance of the early choice of a profession.

May 22, 1750

The importance of the early choice of a profession.

No. 18. The unhappiness of marriage caused by irregular motives of choice.

May 19, 1750

Marriage, though the dictate of nature, and the institution of Providence, is yet very often the cause of misery.

No. 17. The frequent contemplation of death necessary to moderate the passions.

May 15, 1750

It is always pleasing to observe, how much more our minds can conceive, than our bodies can perform

No. 16. The dangers and miseries of a literary eminence.

May 12, 1750

This I have now fatally experienced; the press is, indeed, open.

No. 15. The folly of cards. A letter from a lady that has lost her money.

May 8, 1750

Young persons are commonly inclined to slight the remarks and counsels of their elders.

No. 15. The folly of cards. A letter from a lady that has lost her money.

May 8, 1750

I cannot but suspect that this odious fashion is produced by a conspiracy of the old, the ugly, and the ignorant, against the young and beautiful.

No. 14. The difference between an author’s writings and his conversation.

May 5, 1750

This expectation is, indeed, specious and probable, and yet, such is the fate of all human hopes, that it is very often frustrated.

No. 13. The duty of secrecy. The invalidity of all excuses for betraying secrets.

May 1, 1750

The whole doctrine, as well as practice of secrecy, is so perplexing and dangerous, that I think him unhappy who is chosen to be trusted.

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