Young men soon give, and soon forget, affronts; old age is slow in both.
JOSEPH ADDISONThe voice of reason is more to be regarded than the bent of any present inclination; since inclination will at length come over to reason, though we can never force reason to comply with inclination.
More Joseph Addison Quotes
-
-
Hung it on each side with curious organs of sense, given it airs and graces that cannot be described, and surrounded it with such a flowing shade of hair as sets all its beauties in the most agreeable light.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
Nothing that isn’t a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as inconsistency.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
Jealousy is that pain which a man feels from the apprehension that he is not equally beloved by the person whom he entirely loves.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
Man is subject to innumerable pains and sorrows by the very condition of humanity, and yet, as if nature had not sown evils enough in life, we are continually adding grief to grief and aggravating the common calamity by our cruel treatment of one another.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
Women were formed to temper Mankind, and sooth them into Tenderness and Compassion; not to set an Edge upon their Minds, and blowup in them those Passions which are too apt to rise of their own Accord.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
Honor’s a fine imaginary notion, that draws in raw and unexperienced men to real mischiefs.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
There is noting truly valuable which can be purchased without pains and labor. The gods have set a price upon every real and noble pleasure.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
Nature in her whole drama never drew such a part; she has sometimes made a fool, but a coxcomb is always of a man’s own making.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
Were I to prescribe a rule for drinking, it should be formed upon a saying quoted by Sir William Temple: the first glass for myself, the second for my friends, the third for good humor, and the fourth for mine enemies.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one’s self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
The transition from cause to effect, from event to event, is often carried on by secret steps, which our foresight cannot divine, and our sagacity is unable to trace.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
I Have often thought if the minds of men were laid open, we should see but little difference between that of the wise man and that of the fool.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
Men may change their climate, but they cannot change their nature. A man that goes out a fool cannot ride or sail himself into common sense.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
Talking with a friend is nothing else but thinking aloud.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
One of the most important but one of the most difficult things for a powerful mind is to be its own master.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
There are many more shining qualities in the mind of man, but there is none so useful as discretion.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
The only way therefore to try a Piece of Wit, is to translate it into a different Language: If it bears the Test you may pronounceit true; but if it vanishes in the Experiment you may conclude it to have been a Punn.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
He who would pass his declining years with honor and comfort, should, when young, consider that he may one day become old, and remember when he is old, that he has once been young.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
To be exempt from the passions with which others are tormented, is the only pleasing solitude.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
True benevolence or compassion, extends itself through the whole of existence and sympathizes with the distress of every creature capable of sensation.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
It is ridiculous for any man to criticize on the works of another, who has not distinguished himself by his own performances.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition, but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express.
JOSEPH ADDISON -
The hours of a wise man are lengthened by his ideas.
JOSEPH ADDISON