All is not gold that glitters, as we have often been told; and the adage is verified in your place and my favour; but if what happens does not make us richer, we must bid it welcome, if it makes us wiser.
Interpretation
Not everything that seems valuable is actually so; true wealth lies in wisdom gained through experience.
This quote emphasizes that appearances can be deceptive, and not everything that sparkles holds true value. Samuel Johnson suggests that rather than focusing solely on material gain, we should appreciate experiences that enrich our wisdom, as this is the true wealth that life can offer.
In practice
In a discussion about materialism, one might say, 'Remember, all is not gold that glitters; true value lies in our experiences.'
To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
Fly-fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.
When any anxiety or gloom of the mind takes hold of you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaining; but exert yourselves to hide it, and by endeavoring to hide it you drive it away.
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.
It's a fine thing to rise above pride, but you must have pride in order to do so.
Let the human mind loose. It must be loose. It will be loose. Superstition and dogmatism cannot confine it.
As fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also a false accusation when brought against a man of the purest and holiest character, boils over and is at once dissipated, and vanishes.
Never bear more than one trouble at a time. Some people bear three kinds - all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have.
Let me but find it in my heart to say, When vagrant wishes beckon me astray, "This is my work; my blessing, not my doom; Of all who live, I am the one by whom This work can best be done in the right way."
Treat yourself as your own beloved child.
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