Samuel Johnson on Travel

“The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.”

“The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and, instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.”

“Let him go abroad to a distant country; let him go to some place where he is not known. Don't let him go to the devil where he is known.”

“Let observation with extensive view, Survey mankind from China to Peru; Remark each anxious toil, each eager strife, And watch the busy scenes of crowded life.”

“As the Spanish proverb says, "He who would bring home the wealth of the Indies must carry the wealth of the Indies with him." So it is in travelling: a man must carry knowledge with him, if he would bring home knowledge.”