“Questioning is not the mode of conversation among gentlemen.”

1776
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919), Life of Johnson (Boswell)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 14, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Questioning is not the mode of conversation among gentlemen." by Samuel Johnson?
Samuel Johnson photo
Samuel Johnson 362
English writer 1709–1784

Related quotes

William Temple photo

“Whoever converses much among the old books, will be something hard to please among the new.”

William Temple (1881–1944) Archbishop of Canterbury

Miscellanea (1690), Part II, Essay "Upon the Ancient and Modern Learning".

Alexis De Tocqueville photo
Peter M. Senge photo

“Mutual reflection. Open and candid conversation. Questioning of old beliefs and assumptions.”

Peter M. Senge (1947) American scientist

The Dance of Change (1999)
Context: Mutual reflection. Open and candid conversation. Questioning of old beliefs and assumptions. Learning to let go. Awareness of how our own actions create the systemic structures that produce our problems. Developing these learning capabilities lies at the heart of profound change.

Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo
Chinua Achebe photo
James A. Garfield photo

“Not in Chicago, in the heat of June, but at the ballot-boxes of the Republic, in the quiet of November, after the silence of deliberate judgment, will this question be settled. And now, gentlemen of the Convention, what do we want?”

James A. Garfield (1831–1881) American politician, 20th President of the United States (in office in 1881)

1880s, Speech Nominating John Sherman for President (1880)

Felix Adler photo

“The question what to believe is perhaps the most momentous that anyone can put to himself. Our beliefs are not to be classed among the luxuries, but among the necessaries of existence.”

Felix Adler (1851–1933) German American professor of political and social ethics, rationalist, and lecturer

Section 9 : Ethical Outlook
Founding Address (1876), Life and Destiny (1913)
Context: The question what to believe is perhaps the most momentous that anyone can put to himself. Our beliefs are not to be classed among the luxuries, but among the necessaries of existence. They become particularly important in times of trouble. They are like the life-boats carried by ocean ships. As long as the sea is smooth and there is every appearance of a prosperous voyage, the passengers seldom take note of the boats or inquire into their sea-worthiness. But when the storm breaks and danger approaches, then the capacity of the boats and their soundness become matters of the first importance.

Daniel Levitin photo
Rudyard Kipling photo

Related topics