“I look upon it, that he who does not mind his belly will hardly mind anything else.”
1763
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919), Life of Johnson (Boswell)
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Samuel Johnson362
English writer 1709–1784Related quotes
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Quoted in Dark Horse: The Life and Art of George Harrison, Geoffrey Giuliano, Da Capo Press, , p. 80. http://books.google.com/books?id=0PLygywwfL8C&pg=PA80&dq=if+you+drop+out+you+put+yourself+further+away+from+the+goal+of+life+than+if+you+were+to+keep+working&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0a6NT_nKD6PC2QX434mQDA&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=if%20you%20drop%20out%20you%20put%20yourself%20further%20away%20from%20the%20goal%20of%20life%20than%20if%20you%20were%20to%20keep%20working&f=false <br class="br">Context: I don't mind anybody dropping out of anything, but it's the imposition on somebody else I don't like. The moment you start dropping out and then begging off somebody else to help you, then it's no good. It doesn't matter what you are as long as you work. It doesn't matter if you chop wood as long as you chop and keep chopping. Then you get what's coming to you. You don't have to drop out. In fact, if you drop out you put yourself further away from the goal of life than if you were to keep working.
“For they the mind of Christ discern
Who lean, like John, upon His breast.”
John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 399