Quotes from Joseph Addison

A man with great talents, but void of discretion, is like Polyphemus in the fable, strong and blind, endued with an irresistible force, which for want of sight is of no use to him.

There is no greater sign of a general decay of virtue in a nation, than a want of zeal in its inhabitants for the good of their country.

Mere bashfulness without merit is awkwardness.

Admiration is a very short-lived passion, that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object.

Charity is the perfection and ornament of religion.

Colors speak all languages.

Nothing that is not a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as inconsistency.

A man should always consider ... how much more unhappy he might be than he is.

If I can in any way contribute to the Diversion or Improvement of the Country in which I live, I shall leave it, when I am summoned out of it, with the secret Satisfaction of thinking that I have not lived in vain.

A man should always consider how much he has more than he wants, and how much more unhappy he might be than he really is.

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

There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply its place. For this reason, mankind have been forced to invent a kind of artificial humanity, which is what we express by the word Good Breeding.

To be an atheist requires an indefinitely greater measure of faith than to recieve all the great truths which atheism would deny.

Nothing makes men sharper than want.

The Lord my pasture shall prepare, And feed me with a shepherd's care; His presence shall my wants supply, And guard me with a watchful eye.

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

My voice is still for war.

There is no virtue so truly great and godlike as justice.

Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, filling it with a steady and perpetual serenity.

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. They are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.

Music, the greatest good that mortals know, and all of heaven we have below.

A day, an hour, of virtuous liberty is worth a whole eternity in bondage.

And pleas'd th' Almighty's orders to perform. Rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm.

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