English essayist, poet & playwright (1672-1719)
A true critic ought to dwell rather upon excellencies than imperfections, to discover the concealed beauties of a writer, and communicate to the world such things as are worth their observation.
JOSEPH ADDISON
The Spectator, Feb. 2, 1712
Exercise ferments the humors, casts them into their proper channels, throws off redundancies, and helps nature in those secret distributions, without which the body cannot subsist in its vigor, nor the soul act with cheerfulness.
JOSEPH ADDISON
The Spectator, Jul. 12, 1711
It is the duty of all who make philosophy the entertainment of their lives, to turn their thoughts to practical schemes for the good of society, and not pass away their time in fruitless searches, which tend rather to the ostentation of knowledge than the service of life.
JOSEPH ADDISON
The Tatler, Dec. 9, 1710
Men of warm imaginations and towering thoughts are apt to overlook the goods of fortune which are near them, for something that glitters in the sight at a distance; to neglect solid and substantial happiness for what is showy and superficial; and to contemn that good which lies within their reach, for that which they are not capable of attaining. Hope calculates its schemes for a long and durable life; presses forward to imaginary points of bliss; grasps at impossibilities; and consequently very often ensnares men into beggary, ruin, and dishonour.
JOSEPH ADDISON
The Spectator, Nov. 13, 1712
Music religious heat inspires / It wakes the soul, and lifts it high / And wings it with sublime desires / And fits it to bespeak the Deity.
JOSEPH ADDISON
Song for St. Cecilia's Day
Nature does nothing without purpose or uselessly.
JOSEPH ADDISON
Cato
The spacious firmament on nigh,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim.
Forever singing, as they shine,
The hand that made us is divine.
JOSEPH ADDISON
Ode: The Spacious Firmament on High
There is no virtue so truly great and godlike as justice.
JOSEPH ADDISON
The Guardian, Jul. 4, 1713
Title and ancestry render a good man more illustrious, but an ill one more contemptible.
JOSEPH ADDISON
The Guardian, Aug. 1, 1713
For how few ambitious men are there, who have got as much fame as they desired, and whose thirst after it has not been as eager in the very height of their reputation, as it was before they became known and eminent among men?
JOSEPH ADDISON
The Spectator, No. 256
Health and cheerfulness mutually beget each other.
JOSEPH ADDISON
The Spectator, No. 387
Poverty palls the most generous spirits; it cows industry, and casts resolution itself into despair.
JOSEPH ADDISON
attributed, Day's Collacon
Thy father's merit sets thee up to view,
And shows thee in the fairest point of light,
To make thy virtues, or thy faults, conspicuous.
JOSEPH ADDISON
Cato
To be exempt from the passions with which others are tormented, is the only pleasing solitude.
JOSEPH ADDISON
The Spectator, Mar. 5, 1711
'Tis pride, rank pride, and haughtiness of soul:
I think the Romans call it Stoicism.
JOSEPH ADDISON
Cato
For wheresoe'er I turn my ravished eyes, gay gilded scenes and shining prospects rise, poetic fields encompass me around, and still I seem to tread on classic ground.
JOSEPH ADDISON
A Letter from Italy
If there's a power above us, (And that there is all nature cries aloud through all her works) he must delight in virtue.
JOSEPH ADDISON
Cato
It is an unspeakable advantage to possess our minds with an habitual good intention, and to aim all our thoughts, words, and actions, at some laudable end.
JOSEPH ADDISON
The Spectator: In Eight Volumes, Volume 3
What an absurd thing it is to pass over all the valuable parts of a man, and fix our attention on his infirmities.
JOSEPH ADDISON
The Spectator, Dec. 15, 1711
Young men soon give and soon forget affronts; old age is slow in both.
JOSEPH ADDISON
Cato