Samuel Johnson Quotes on Authors

“No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.”

blockhead except wrote

“The chief' glory of every people arises from its authors.”

authors arises chief

“A man may write at any time if he set himself doggedly to it.”

doggedly himself write

“He [Milton] was a Phidias that could cut a Colossus out of a rock, but could not cut heads out of cherry stones.”

cut colossus phidias

“Each change of many-coloured life he drew, Exhausted worlds and then imagined new* Existence saw him spurn her bounded reign, And panting Time toil'd after him in vain.”

manycoloured exhausted existence

“There are two things which I am confident I can do very well; one is an introduction to any literary work, stating what it is to contain, and how it should be executed in the most perfect manner.”

introduction confident literary

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Samuel Johnson on Authors