Share & Save
Meaning
Johnson is making a case for attention to small things as a route to a better life. The quote can be taken to mean that large ambitions often depend on everyday habits, and that by noticing modest causes of discomfort or ease, a person can reduce misery and increase contentment. It lands when someone is solving a nagging problem that seems minor but affects daily peace.
When It Was Said
Not documented yet.
Who It Was Said To
Not documented yet.
Historical Context
Not documented yet.
Source
Not documented yet.
Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
Not documented yet.
Did You Know?
Not documented yet.
About Samuel Johnson
English writer and polymath
Samuel Johnson, often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer and polymath. He is best known for his Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1755, a work of 42,733 entries that shaped the study and use of English. Beyond the dictionary, Johnson wrote as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermon writer, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. His reputation rests on the breadth of that work and on his lasting influence on the English language.
More from Samuel Johnson (241 quotes) →Keep reading Samuel Johnson
- “A man seldom thinks with more earnestness of anything than he does of his dinner.”Samuel Johnson
- “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”Samuel Johnson
- “There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return ben…”Samuel Johnson
- “Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.”Samuel Johnson
Explore Art
- “Writing, more than any other art, is indexed to the worthiness of the self because it is identified in people…”Rachel Cusk
- “Parents are usually more careful to bestow knowledge on their children rather than virtue, the art of speakin…”R. Buckminster Fuller
- “Art is always and everywhere the secret confession, and at the same time the immortal movement of its time.”Karl Marx
Happiness: more sayings
- “And then it occurs to me. They are frightened. In me, they see their own daughters, just as ignorant, just as…”Amy Tan
- “I've always said you have to go through a lot of heartache in life to feel joy.”Doug Collins
- “The best way we can honor the pioneers—the best way for us to repay our debt of gratitude to them—goes beyond…”President Dieter F. Uchtdorf