“He who praises everybody praises nobody.”
Johnson's Works (1787), vol. XI, p. 216; This set included the Life of Samuel Johnson by Sir John Hawkins
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Samuel Johnson 362
English writer 1709–1784Related quotes

The Shared Patio (2005)
Context: Do you have doubts about life? Are you unsure if it is really worth the trouble? Look at the sky: that is for you. Look at each person's face as you pass them on the street: those faces are for you. And the street itself, and the ground under the street, and the ball of fire underneath the ground: all these things are for you. They are as much for you as they are for other people. Remember this when you wake up in the morning and think you have nothing. Stand up and face the east. Now praise the sky and praise the light within each person under the sky. It's okay to be unsure. But praise, praise, praise.

St. 11.
The Battle of Blenheim http://www.poetry-archive.com/s/the_battle_of_blenheim.html (1798)

“Anyone who delights in praise destroys it.”
#20
The Meditations of Guigo I, Prior of the Charterhouse

“Usually we only praise to be praised.”
On ne loue d'ordinaire que pour être loué.
Maxim 146.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)

“Some condemnations praise; some praise damns.”
Il y a des reproches qui louent et des louanges qui médisent.
Maxim 148.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)

“The refusal of praise is only the wish to be praised twice.”
Le refus des louanges est un désir d'être loué deux fois.
Maxim 149.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)

Memories of President Lincoln, 14
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)