B.S. Johnson Quotes

A merchant may, perhaps, be a man of an enlarged mind, but there is nothing in trade connected with an enlarged mind.

Marriage is the best state for man in general, and every man is a worst man in proportion to the level he is unfit for marriage.

I would consent to have a limb amputated to recover my spirits

We owe to memory not only the increase of our knowledge, and our progress in rational inquiries, but many other intellectual pleasures

Those who have no power to judge of past times but by their own, should always doubt their conclusions

I respect Millar, sir: he has raised the price of literature.

Justice is indispensably and universally necessary, and what is necessary must always be limited, uniform, and distinct

A coxcomb is ugly all over with the effectation of a fine gentleman.

The friendship which is to be practised or expected by common mortals, must take its rise from mutual pleasure, and must end when the power ceases of delighting each other.

The purpose of a writer is to be read, and the criticism which would destroy the power of pleasing must be blown aside

Love has no great influences upon the sum of life.

There is always something a woman will prefer to the truth.

When a Man is tried of London, he is tired of life.

An infallible characteristic of meanness is cruelty. Men who have practiced tortures on animals without pity, relating them without shame, how can they still hold their heads among human beings?

The liberty of using harmless pleasure will not be disputed; but it is still to be examined what pleasures are harmless.

When the eye or the imagination is struck with an uncommon work, the next transition of an active mind is to the means by which it was performed

A ship is worse than a gaol. There is, in a gaol, better air, better company, better conveniency of every kind; and a ship has the additional disadvantage of of being in danger.

A soldier's time is passed in distress and danger, or in idleness and corruption.

The happiness of London is not to be conceived but by those who have been in it.

To do nothing is in everyone's power.

On Sir Joshua Reynolds's observing that the real character of a man was found out by his amusements. Yes, Sir, no man is a hypocrite in his pleasures.

From all our observations we may collect with certainty, that misery is the lot of man, but cannot discover in what particular condition it will find most alleviations.

Much mischief is done in the world with very little interest or design.

Men are most powerfully affected by those evils which themselves feel, or which appear before their own eyes.

Frequent discontent must proceed from frequent hardships.

I do not know, sir, that the fellow is an infidel; but if he be an infidel, he is an infidel as a dog is an infidel; that is to say, he has never thought upon the subject.

The liberty of the press is a blessing when we are inclined to write against others, and a calamity when we find ourselves overborne by the multitude of our assailants.

No wonder, Sir, that he is vain; a man who is perpetually flattered in every mode that can be conceived. So many bellows have blown the fire, that one wonders he is not by this time become a cinder.

But, perhaps, the flatterer is not often detected; for an honest mind is not apt to suspect, and no one exerts the power of discernment with much vigour when selflove favors the deceit.

Men seldom give pleasure when they are not pleased themselves.

What is read twice is usually remembered more than what is once written.

The fountain of contentment must spring up in the mind.

The faults of a man loved or honoured sometimes steal secretly and imperceptibly upon the wise and virtuous, but by injudicious fondness or thoughtless vanity are adopted with design.

I think your main draws are instinct, intuition and empathy... those things that you can't really practice.

It's much easier to have something that's absolutely definite and has a definite identity, rather than a really generic role.

Retiring was scary and it was tough to give up gymnastics, but so many great opportunities have come from it that I never expected.

I don't want to be all power and muscle.

Staying healthy and consistent is paramount.

I've never had a teammate competing with me my whole life.

I started taking gymnastic classes when I was 3 years old.

I was always trying to be leaner and thinner to fit the standard and the mold.

I live for Pilates reformer class. I go at least three times a week. It's a great way to lengthen your muscles, stretch, and kind of relax your mind.

I feel like when there's so much conversation about women's athletics right now, we need to focus on their performance and their skill.

It's nearly every country's tactic to keep their greatest competitors a secret.

That's the drama of our sport. Our margin of error is so small that anything can happen.

When people say no to me, I say, "Don't say no to me. There is a waywe can work this out."

As we do at such times I turned on my automatic pilot and went through the motions of normalcy on the outside, so that I could concentrate all my powers on surviving the near-mortal wound inside.

people are strong despite suffering, not because of it.

In our home we grew up thinking we were Mormons first and human beings second.

The church belongs to its hierarchy, which is men in power. Those outside the hierarchy, and especially women, are at best only renters and at worst squatters in religious territory.