WIST

Music, the greatest good that mortals know,
And all of heaven we have below.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
“A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day,” l. 27 (1694)

A little nonsense now and then
Is relished by the wisest men.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
“Sir Roger on the Bench”

When I read the epitaphs of the beautiful, every inordinate desire goes out; when I meet with the grief of parents upon a tombstone, my heart melts with compassion; when I see the tomb of the parents themselves, I consider the vanity of grieving for those whom we must quickly follow: when I see kings lying by those who deposed them, when I consider rival wits placed side by side, or the holy men that divided the world with their contests and disputes, I reflect with sorrow and astonishment on the little competitions, factions, and debates of mankind.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
“Thoughts in Westminster Abbey” (1711)

The soul, secured in her existence, smiles
At the drawn dagger, and defies its point.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Cato, A Tragedy, Act V, sc. i (1713)

‘Tis not in mortals to command success,
But we’ll do more, Sempronius; we’ll deserve it.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Cato, I.ii.43 (1713)

Certain it is, that there is no kind of affection so pure and angelic as that of a father to a daughter. he beholds her, both wise and without regard to her sex. In love to our wives there is desire, to our sons there is ambition; but in that to our daughters, there is something which there are no words to describe.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Spectator, #449 (5 Aug 1712)
Full text.

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.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Freeholder, ch. 5 (1716)

Charity is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands. … Gifts and alms are the expressions, not the essence, of this virtue.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Guardian, #166

When I consider the Question, Whether there are such Persons in the World as those we call Witches? my Mind is divided between the two opposite Opinions; or rather (to speak my Thoughts freely) I believe in general that there is, and has been such a thing as Witchcraft; but at the same time can give no Credit to any Particular Instance of it.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Spectator #117 (14 Jul 1711)

A man’s first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart; his next, to escape the censures of the world.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Spectator #122 (20 Jul 1711)

Good nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit, and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Spectator #169 (13 Sep 1711)

I have often thought, says Sir Roger, it happens very well that Christmas should fall out in the Middle of the Winter.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Spectator #269 (8 Jan 1712)

There is nothing which we receive with so much reluctance as advice.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Spectator #512 (17 Oct 1712)

Sir Roger told them, with an air of a man who would not give his judgement rashly, that much might be said on both sides.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Spectator, #122 (20 Jul. 1711)

A man must be excessively stupid, as well as uncharitable, who believes that there is no virtue but on his own side, and that there are not men as honest as himself who may differ from him in political principles.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Spectator, #243 (8 Dec 1711)

Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Spectator, #381 (17 May 1712)

I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Spectator, #477 (6 Sep 1712)

Of all the diversions of life, there is none so proper to fill up its empty spaces as the reading of useful and entertaining authors.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Spectator, #94 (18 Jun 1711)

Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body. As by the one, health is preserved, strengthened, and invigorated: by the other, virtue (which is the health of the mind) is kept alive, cherished, and confirmed.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Tatler, #147

When I read the several dates of the tombs, of some that died yesterday, and some six hundred years ago, I consider that great day when we shall all of us be contemporaries, and make our appearance together.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Thoughts in Westminster Abbey (1711)