Quotes by Joseph Addison

“Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves tomankind, which are delivered down from generation togeneration as presents to the posterity of those who are yet unborn””

“The greatest sweetener of human life is Friendship. To raise this to the highest pitch of enjoyment, is a secret which but few discover””

“If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother and hope your guardian genius.””

“Of all the diversions of life, there is none so proper to fill up its empty spaces as the reading of useful and entertaining authors.””

“What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul.””

“Should the whole frame of nature round him break,In ruin and confusion hurled,He, unconcerned, would hear the mighty crack,And stand secure amidst a falling world.””

“Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.””

“A man must be both stupid and uncharitable who believes there is no virtue or truth but on his own side.””

“Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in proper figures.””

“True happiness is of a retired nature, and an enemy to pomp and noise; it arises, in the first place, in the enjoyment of one's self, and, in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions.””

“A misery is not to be measured from the nature of the evil, but from the temper of the sufferer.””

“In doing what we ought we deserve no praise, because it is our duty.””

“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.””