Those writers who lie on the watch for novelty can have little hope of greatness; for great things cannot have escaped former observation.
Samuel JohnsonWhen a man marries a widow his jealousies revert to the past: no man is as good as his wife says her first husband was
Samuel JohnsonExert your talents, and distinguish yourself, and don't think of retiring from the world, until the world will be sorry that you retire.
Samuel JohnsonIn writing, as in life, faults are endured without disgust when they are associated with transcendent merit, and may be sometimes recommended to weak judgments by the lustre which they obtain from their union with excellence; but it is the business of those who presume to superintend the taste or morals of mankind to separate delusive combinations, and distinguish that which may be praised from that which can only be excused.
Samuel Johnson