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But in all despotic governments, though a particular prince may favour arts and letter, there is a natural degeneracy of mankind.

Joseph Addison

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Joseph Addison
Age: 47 †
Born: 1672
Born: May 1
Died: 1719
Died: June 17
Editor
Essayist
Journalist
Librettist
Playwright
Poet
Politician
Writer
Milston
Wiltshire
Joseph Addisson
Right Hon. Joseph Addison
Letter
Art
Governments
Government
Arts
May
Letters
Mankind
Degeneracy
Particular
Despotic
Favour
Though
Prince
Natural

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It is easier for an artful Man, who is not in Love, to persuade his Mistress he has a Passion for her, and to succeed in his Pursuits, than for one who loves with the greatest Violence. True Love hath ten thousand Griefs, Impatiencies and Resentments, that render a Man unamiable in the Eyes of the Person whose Affection he sollicits.
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The moral perfections of the Deity, the more attentively, we consider, the more perfectly still shall we know them.
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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.
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I have but nine-pence in ready money, but I can draw for a thousand pounds.
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A good disposition is more valuable than gold, for the latter is the gift of fortune, but the former is the dower of nature.
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Should a writer single out and point his raillery at particular persons, or satirize the miserable, he might be sure of pleasing a great part of his readers, but must be a very ill man if he could please himself.
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A great large book is a great evil.
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The utmost extent of man's knowledge, is to know that he knows nothing.
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When I read the rules of criticism, I immediately inquire after the works of the author who has written them, and by that means discover what it is he likes in a composition.
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A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.
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What an absurd thing it is to pass over all the valuable parts of a man, and fix our attention on his infirmities.
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An ostentatious man will rather relate a blunder or an absurdity he has committed, than be debarred from talking of his own dear person.
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Heaven is not to be looked upon only as the reward, but the natural effect, of a religious life.
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Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass.
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Though a man cannot abstain from being weak, he may from being vicious.
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Ridicule is generally made use of to laugh men out of virtue and good sense, by attacking everything praiseworthy in human life.
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The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years, But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amidst the wars of elements, The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds.
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A virtuous mind in a fair body is indeed a fine picture in a good light, and therefore it is no wonder that it makes the beautiful sex all over charms.
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There is not, in my opinion, anything more mysterious in nature than this instinct in animals, which thus rise above reason, and yet fall infinitely short of it.
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He only is a great man who can neglect the applause of the multitude and enjoy himself independent of its favor.
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