The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope.
Interpretation
Humans are driven by hope rather than just seeking pleasure.
Samuel Johnson's quote suggests that the innate tendencies of human thought and aspiration are not merely focused on transient pleasures, but rather on the pursuit of hope and the possibilities that the future can bring. This reflects a deeper psychological truth about human motivation, indicating that hope inspires us to strive for betterment and endure challenges.
In practice
In a speech about resilience, one might say, 'As Samuel Johnson pointed out, the natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope.'
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.
Which government is the best? The one that teaches us to govern ourselves.
The Master gives himself up to whatever the moment brings. He knows that he is going to die, and her has nothing left to hold on to: no illusions in his mind, no resistances in his body. He doesn't think about his actions; they flow from the core of his being. He holds nothing back from life; therefore he is ready for death, as a man is ready for sleep after a good day's work.
He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.
Lying is the most simple form of self-defence.
No one expects to attain to the height of learning, or arts, or power, or wealth, or military glory, without vigorous resolution, strenuous diligence, and steady perseverance. Yet we expect to be Christians without labour, study, or inquiry.
Aristotle may be regarded as the cultural barometer of Western history. Whenever his influence dominated the scene, it paved the way for one of history's brilliant eras; whenever it fell, so did mankind.
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