Pity is not natural to man. Children and savages are always cruel. Pity is acquired and improved by the cultivation of reason. We may have uneasy sensations from seeing a creature in distress, without pity but we have not pity unless we wish to relieve him.
More Quotes from Samuel Johnson:
Disappointment, when it involves neither shame nor loss, is as good as success for it supplies as many images to the mind, and as many topics to the tongue.Samuel Johnson
I refute it thus.
Samuel Johnson
I cannot forbear to wish, that this commotion (in the colonies) may end without bloodshed, and that the rebels may be subdued by terror rather than by violence and, therefore, recommend such a force as may take away, not only the power, but the hope
Samuel Johnson
Courage is a quality so necessary for maintaining virtue, that it is always respected, even when it is associated with vice.
Samuel Johnson
Christianity is the highest perfection of humanity.
Samuel Johnson
Words too familiar, or too remote, defeat the purpose of a poet
Samuel Johnson
Readers Who Like This Quotation Also Like:
Based on Topics: Children Quotes, Man Quotes, Reasoning Quotes, Sadness QuotesSeeds of great discoveries are constantly floating around us, but they only take root in minds well prepared to receive them.
Joseph Henry
Moderation of oil prices would be very, very welcome. But overall I think we are in a position of stable growth, sustainable growth, and basically with inflation in check.
John W. Snow
Anyone who wants simple, pat stories should buy another author's product. The real universe ain't that way, and neither are my fictive ones.
David Brin