All the arguments which are brought to represent poverty as no evil show it evidently to be a great evil. – Samuel Johnson
A fly may sting a stately horse and make him wince; but one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still. – Samuel Johnson
Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those who we cannot resemble. – Samuel Johnson
Taste is only to be educated by contemplation, not of the tolerably good but of the truly excellent. I therefore show you only the best works; and when you are grounded in these, you will have a standard for the rest, which you will know how to value, without overrating them. – Johann von Goethe