A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good.
In plain words
Read what excites you, not just what you're told to. That's when reading actually helps you.
Where these words come from
- 60% sureLots of sources credit Samuel Johnson with this, and they agree with each other. The book or the speech it first came from hasn't turned up yet.
- Recorded conversation of 14 July 1763 in Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson (1791). Boswell's contemporaneous record is a real named work, but not a work BY Johnson — testimony class, held at likely per the house Bohr precedent.
- Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson
- 1763 · conversation recorded by James Boswell
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ConfuciusNature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.Lao TzuIn the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.Sun TzuThe wound is the place where the light enters you.RumiYou have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.Marcus AureliusWaste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.Marcus Aurelius