Samuel Johnson (18 September [O.S. 7 September] 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography calls him "arguably the most distinguished man...
What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.
—Samuel Johnson in The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
A man used to vicissitudes is not easily dejected.
—Samuel Johnson in The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia