Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison
Joseph Addisonwas an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend, Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth1 May 1672
religious men enthusiasm
There is not a more melancholy object than a man who has his head turned with religious enthusiasm.
men criticism ridiculous
It is ridiculous for any man to criticize on the works of another, who has not distinguished himself by his own performances.
truth plato light
There is something very sublime, though very fanciful, in Plato's description of the Supreme Being,--that truth is His body and light His shadow. According to this definition there is nothing so contradictory to his nature as error and falsehood.
mean men sorrow
Religion prescribes to every miserable man the means of bettering his condition; nay, it shows him that the bearing of his afflictions as he ought to do, will naturally end in the removal of them.
men honest sober
An honest man, that is not quite sober, has nothing to fear.
book evil
A great large book is a great evil.
may way morality
I shall endeavour to enliven Morality with Wit, and to temper Wit with Morality, that my Readers may, if possible, both Ways findtheir Account in the Speculation of the Day.
men laughing use
If ridicule were employed to laugh men out of vice and folly, it might be of some use.
mind action good-intentions
It is of unspeakable advantage to possess our minds with an habitual good intention, and to aim all our thoughts, words, and actions at some laudable end.
pain real noble
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.
evil action sin
An evil intention perverts the best actions, and makes them sins.
life crush stars
I 'm weary of conjectures,-this must end 'em. Thus am I doubly armed: my death and life, My bane and antidote, are both before me: This in a moment brings me to an end; But this informs me I shall never die. The soul, secured in her existence, smiles At the drawn dagger, and defies its point. The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years; But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amidst the war of elements, The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds.
character fate destiny
The end of a man's life is often compared to the winding up of a well written play, where the principal persons still act in character, whatever the fate in which they undergo.
practice names age
There is no kind of false wit which has been so recommended by the practice of all ages, as that which consists in a jingle of words, and is comprehended under the general name of punning.