Whoever shall review his life, will find that the whole tenor of his conduct has been determined by some accident of no apparent moment.
Samuel JohnsonNo weakness of the human mind has more frequently incurred animadversion, than the negligence with which men overlook their own faults, however flagrant, and the easiness with which they pardon them, however frequently repeated.
Samuel JohnsonEverybody loves to have things which please the palate put in their way, without trouble or preparation.
Samuel JohnsonTo love their country has been considered as virtue in men, whose love could not be otherwise than blind, because their preference was made without, a comparison; but it has never been my fortune to find, either in ancient or modern writers, any honourable mention of those, who have, with equal blindness, hated their country.
Samuel JohnsonYou need a good editor because every writer thinks he can write a War and Peace, but by the time he gets it on paper, it's not War and Peace anymore; it's comic-book stuff. Your manuscript is both good and original. But the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good.
Samuel Johnson