Quotes by Joseph Addison

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

Rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm.

We are growing serious and let me tell you thats a very next step to being dull.

Irresolution on the schemes of life I which offer themselves to our choice and inconstancy in pursuing them are the greatest causes of all unhappiness.

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 their proper figures.

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.

Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

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

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 wars of elements, The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds.

To be perfectly just is an attribute of the divine nature; to be so to the utmost of our abilities, is the glory of man.

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.

Mutability of temper and inconsistency with ourselves is the greatest weakness of human nature.

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.

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 their proper figures.

True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of ones self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions.

The utmost extent of mans knowledge, is to know that he knows nothing.

Courage that grows from constitution often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it courage which arises from a sense of duty acts in a uniform manner.

A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most recent blessings or misfortunes.

Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body.

I will indulge my sorrows, and give way to all the pangs and fury of despair.