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
half
He thought he was a wit, and he was half right.
religious men enthusiasm
There is not a more melancholy object than a man who has his head turned with religious enthusiasm.
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.
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.
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.
mouths argument
Arguments out of a pretty mouth are unanswerable.
respect men cherish
Men who cherish for women the highest respect are seldom popular with them.
thinking generations firsts
Simonides, a poet famous in his generation, is, I think, author of the oldest satire that is now extant, and, as some say, of the first that was ever written.
lost variety
Amidst the soft variety I'm lost.
death honor thousand
Better to die ten thousand deaths than wound my honor.
design attention may
An opera may be allowed to be extravagantly lavish in its decorations, as its only design is to gratify the senses and keep up an indolent attention in the audience.