"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."

Action

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on action by Samuel Johnson resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in action is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson, often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer and polymath who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The work for which he is best known is his 42,733-entry Dictionary of the English Language (1755). For this and other contributions in and to the English language, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography has called him "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history".

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the ShortQuote Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Samuel Johnson

"Leisure and curiosity might soon make great advances in useful knowledge, were they not diverted by minute emulation and laborious trifles."

— Samuel Johnson
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"If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man, sir, should keep his friendship in a constant repair."

— Samuel Johnson
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"There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern."

— Samuel Johnson
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"There is no private house in which people can enjoy themselves so well as at a capital tavern... No, Sir there is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn."

— Samuel Johnson
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More about Action

"I've always wanted to pull off 'No One is to Blame' by Howard Jones. I've done that a couple times in solo shows, but I can't figure out how to do that with a full band and make it work."

— Jason Isbell
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"I'm still going to do television. I'm just not going to do morning television. I would like to do some things that satisfy interests, private interests."

— Bryant Gumbel
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"When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things."

— Joe Namath
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"I don't know what to do with myself between films. I end up doing unhealthy things like shopping or drinking. I'm pretty schizophrenic about it."

— Johnny Galecki
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