Every man is rich or poor according to the proportion between his desires and his enjoyments; any enlargement of wishes is therefore equally destruct… - Samuel Johnson

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Every man is rich or poor according to the proportion between his desires and his enjoyments; any enlargement of wishes is therefore equally destructive to happiness with the diminution of possession, and he that teaches another to long for what he never shall obtain is no less an enemy to his quiet than if he had robbed him of part of his patrimony.

desire wealth frugality juxtaposition
English
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About Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 [7 September O.S.] – 13 December 1784) was a British author, linguist and lexicographer. He is often referred to as simply Dr. Johnson in the history of literature and is regarded as the greatest man of letters in English history.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Dr Johnson • Dr. Johnson • Great Moralist
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Every man is rich or poor according to the proportion between his desires and his enjoyments.
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Originators like Samuel Johnson:
William Hazlitt Michel de Montaigne Jonathan Swift Joseph Addison Benjamin Franklin

Additional quotes by Samuel Johnson

There is scarcely any writer who has not celebrated the happiness of rural privacy, and delighted himself and his reader with the melody of birds, the whisper of groves, and the murmur of rivulets.
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