The happiness of London is not to be conceived but by those who have been in it.
Interpretation
True happiness in London can only be understood by those who have experienced it firsthand.
Samuel Johnson's quote suggests that the joy and essence of London, a vibrant city, can only be fully grasped by individuals who have lived or spent significant time there. It underscores the idea that certain experiences, particularly ones tied to place and culture, can only be truly appreciated through personal involvement rather than mere observation or hearsay.
In practice
During a speech about traveling, one might quote Samuel Johnson to emphasize the importance of experiencing a city personally.
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.
The best way to secure future happiness is to be as happy as is rightfully possible to-day.
I know not if this earth on which I stand is the core of the universe or if it is but a speck of dust lost in eternity. I know not and I care not. For I know what happiness is possible to me on earth. And my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose.
a man possessed with peace is always smiling
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.
There is so much to love and to admire in this life that it is an act of ingratitude not to be happy and content in this existence.
Everyone contributes a word, a sentence, an image, but in the end it all makes sense: the happiness of one becomes the joy of all.
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