Samuel JohnsonDepend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.
About This Quote
A man who knows he's about to be executed can feel many emotions. He may feel fear, especially if he's innocent; pain at the loss of his life; exasperation, because he can't do anything to prevent his death; and anticipation, because he knows that what comes next is the best part. The anticipation makes the waiting worthwhile.
Some Similar Quotes
- We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and–in spite of True Romance magazines–we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely–at least, not all the...
- Stop fighting me! " he said, trying to pull on the arm he held. He was in a precarious position himself, straddling the rail as he tried to lean over far enough to get me and actually hold onto me.“ Let go of me! ”...
- Weeping is not the same thing as crying. It takes your whole body to weep, and when it's over, you feel like you don't have any bones left to hold you up.
- May she wake in torment! " he cried, with frightful vehemence, stamping his foot, and groaning in a sudden paroxysm of ungovernable passion. "Why, she's a liar to the end! Where is she? Not there–not in heaven–not perished–where? Oh! you said you cared nothing for...
- What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life--to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each...
More Quotes By Samuel Johnson
- It is necessary to hope... for hope itself is happiness.
- I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.
- In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it.
- Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth.
- Whoever thou art that, not content with a moderate condition, imaginest happiness in royal magnificence, and dreamest that command or riches can feed the appetite of novelty with perpetual gratifications, survey the Pyramids, and confess thy folly!