Joseph Addison Quotes

In doing what we ought we deserve no praise.

O ye powers that search The heart of man, and weigh his inmost thoughts, If I have done amiss, impute it not! The best may err, but you are good.

What though no real voice nor sound Amid their radiant orbs be found ; In reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice, Forever singing as they shine, "The Hand that made us divine."

How can we sufficiently extol the Goodness of His present Majesty, who is not willing to have a single Slave in his Dominions! Or enough rejoice in the Exercise of that Loyalty, which, instead of betraying a Man into the most ignominious Servitude, (as it does in some of our neighboring Kingdoms) entitles him to the highest Privileges of Freedom and Property!

When love's well-timed 'tis not a fault to love;
The strong, the brave, the virtuous, and the wise,
Sink in the soft captivity together.

Though a man has all other perfections, and wants discretion, he will be of no great consequence in the world; but if he has this single talent in perfection, and but a common share of others, he may do what he pleases in his station of life.

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

In all thy humours, whether grave or mellow, Thou 'rt such a touchy, testy, pleasant fellow, Hast so much wit and mirth and spleen about thee, There is no living with thee, nor without thee.

A man's first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart; his next to escape the censures of the world: if the last interferes with the former, it ought to be entirely neglected; but otherwise there cannot be a greater satisfaction to an honest mind, than to see those approbations which it gives itself seconded by the applauses of the public: a man is more sure of his conduct, when the verdict which he passes upon his own behaviour is thus warranted and confirmed by the opinion of all that know him.

I will indulge my sorrows, and give way To all the pangs and fury of despair.

A true critic ought to dwell rather upon excellencies than imperfections, to discover the concealed beauties of a writer, and communicate to the world such things as are worth their observation.

Senyum bagi manusia adalah ibarat cahaya matahari bagi bunga.
Kelihatannya sepele, tetapi apabila disebarkan sepanjang hidup, manfaatnya tidak bisa dihitung.

The honors of this world, what are they But puff, and emptiness, and peril of falling?

Admiration is a very short-lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object, unless it be still fed with fresh discoveries, and kept alive by a new perpetual succession of miracles rising up to its view.

Cato Trust me, Lucius, Our civil discords have produced such crimes, 5 Such monstrous crimes, I am surprised at nothing. — O Lucius! I am sick of this bad world! The day-light and the sun grow painful to me.