I know not why any one but a school boy in his declamation would whine over the Commonwealth of Rome, which grew great only by the misery of the rest of mankind. The Romans, like others, as soon as they were rich, grew corrupt; and in their corruption sold the lives and freedoms of themselves and of one another.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the moral implications of Rome's greatness, highlighting the cost of prosperity in terms of human suffering and corruption.
Samuel Johnson critiques the Commonwealth of Rome by pointing out that its success came at the expense of other nations and the moral decay of its people. The greatness of Rome is juxtaposed with the misery it caused, suggesting that wealth and power can lead to corruption and the loss of freedom, not just for others but for the Romans themselves. Johnson's words serve as a cautionary reminder about the ethics of ambition and prosperity.
In practice
In a debate about ethical leadership, this quote can be used to argue the importance of accountability in governance.
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.
If there is a God that has special plans for humans, then He has taken very great pains to hide His concern for us. To me it would seem impolite if not impious to bother such a God with our prayers.
We cannot expect that all nations will adopt like systems, for conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
Tradition! We scarcely know the word anymore. We are afraid to be either proud of our ancestors or ashamed of them. We scorn nobility in name and in fact. We cling to a bourgeois mediocrity which would make it appear we are all Americans, made in the image and likeness of George Washington.
Bad promises are better broken than kept.
The love for justice that is in us is not only the best part of our being but it is also the most true to our nature.
It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without the agency of a Supreme Being.
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