“I consider the world as made for me, not me for the world. It is my maxim therefore to enjoy it while I can, and let futurity shift for itself.”

Expressing a pragmatic, self-regarding approach to life · The Adventures of Roderick Random

• Life
• Pleasure
• Self

“That great Cham of literature, Samuel Johnson.”

A memorable characterisation of the dominant literary figure of the age · Letter to John Wilkes, 16 March 1759

• Authors
• Literature
• Praise

“Writing is all a lottery — I have been a loser by the works of the greatest men of the age.”

Reflecting on the uncertain rewards of literary labour · The Expedition of Humphry Clinker, 1771

• Fortune
• Literature
• Writing

“Facts are stubborn things.”

Emphasising the resistance of reality to wishful thinking · Translation of Gil Blas, Book X

• Evidence
• Reality
• Truth