Dullness Quotes

• He is not only dull himself, but the cause of dulness in others.

  Samuel Johnson

  Stupid, People, Intelligence

  James Boswell, Samuel Johnson (1859). “The Life of Samuel Johnson”, p.127

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• Resolve to perform what you ought;
  perform without fail what you resolve.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Priorities, Advice, Failing

  Benjamin Franklin, William-Temple Franklin (1818). “Memoirs of the Life and Writings of (the Same), Continued to the Time of His Death by William Temple Franklin. - London, H. Colburn 1818”, p.68

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• Order - Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Order, Moral Perfection

  Benjamin Franklin (2008). “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”, p.126, Applewood Books

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• Silence - Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Silence, Benefits, May

  Benjamin Franklin, William Temple Franklin (1818). “Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Benjamin Franklin ...”, p.68

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• The dullness of the fool is the whetstone of the wits.

  William Shakespeare

  Fool, You Like It, Wit

  William Shakespeare, Juliet Dusinberre (2006). “As You Like It: Third Series”, p.163, Cengage Learning EMEA

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• Dullness is a misdemeanour.

  Ethel Wilson

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• Authors have established it as a kind of rule, that a man ought to be dull sometimes; as the most severe reader makes allowances for many rests and nodding-places in a voluminous writer.

  Joseph Addison

  Kindness, Men, Dull

  Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1853). “The Spectator”, p.160

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• It is to beoted that when any part of this paper appears dull there is a design in it.

  Richard Steele

  Design, Paper, Dull

  'The Tatler' no. 38 (7 July 1709)

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• He was dull in a new way, and that made many think him great.

  Samuel Johnson

  Greatness, Thinking, Dull

  Quoted in James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) (entry for 28 Mar. 1775)

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• Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Hope, Wisdom, Integrity

  Benjamin Franklin (1818). “Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Benjamin Franklin ..., 1”, p.129

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• Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Goodness, Expenses, Moral Perfection

  Benjamin Franklin, Jared Sparks (1848). “The Life of Benjamin Franklin: Containing the Autobiography, with Notes and a Continuation”, p.106

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• So, with their usual sense of justice, ladies argue that because a woman is handsome, therefore she is a fool. O ladies, ladies! there are some of you who are neither handsome nor wise.

  William Makepeace Thackeray

  Wise, Justice, Usual

  William Makepeace Thackeray (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of William Makepeace Thackeray (Illustrated)”, p.929, Delphi Classics

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• There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person.

  Gilbert K. Chesterton

  Inspirational, Earth, Artistic Temperament

  Heretics (1905) ch. 3

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• To experience conflicts knowingly, though it may be distressing, can be an invaluable asset. The more we face our own conflicts and seek out our own solutions, the more inner freedom and strength we will gain. Only when we are willing to bear the brunt can we approximate the ideal of being the captain of our ship. Spurious tranquillity rooted in inner dullness is anything but enviable. It is bound to make us weak and an easy prey to any kind of influence.

  Karen Horney

  Faces, Bears, May

  Karen Horney (2013). “Our Inner Conflicts: A CONSTRUCTIVE THEORY OF NEUROSIS”, p.27, Routledge

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• Put a very clever man next to a genius, his brightness will immediately turn to dullness!

  Mehmet Murat Ildan

  Clever, Men, Brightness

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• Dullness is the coming of age of seriousness.

  Oscar Wilde

  Age, Seriousness, Coming Of Age

  Oscar Wilde, Isobel Murray (1999). “The Soul of Man, and Prison Writings”, p.10, Oxford University Press, USA

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• The dullard finds even wine tasteless, while the sorcerer is intoxicated by the mere sight of water.

  Hakim Bey

  Wine, Sight, Water

  57 Copy quote

• Profundity easily turns into dullness and astuteness deteriorates into wit. Be guided by natural common sense and it will accommodate great and small.

  Franz Grillparzer

  Common Sense, Natural, Wit

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• Gentle dullness ever loves a joke.

  Alexander Pope

  Gentle, Jokes

  'The Dunciad' (1742) bk. 2, l. 34

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• If certain critics and poetasters had their way, 'Ordinary Piety' and its child, Dullness, would be the masters of poetry.

  Edith Sitwell

  Children, Poetry, Ordinary

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• The first bowl sleekly moistened throat and lips, The second banished all my loneliness The third expelled the dullness from my mind, Sharpening inspiration gained from all the books I've read. The fourth brought forth light perspiration, Dispersing a lifetimes troubles through my pores. The fifth bowl cleansed every atom of my being. The sixth has made me kin to the Immortals. This seventh... I can take no more.

  Lu Tong

  Loneliness, Book, Inspiration

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• Sedentary people are apt to have sluggish minds. A sluggish mind is apt to be reflected in flabbiness of body and in a dullness of expression that invites no interest and gets none.

  Rose Kennedy

  Health, Expression, People

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• Think excitement, talk excitement, act out excitement, and you are bound to become an excited person. Life will take on a new nest, deeper interest and greater meaning. You can think, talk and act yourself into dullness or into monotony or into unhappiness. By the same process you can build up inspiration, excitement and surging depth of joy.

  Norman Vincent Peale

  Inspiration, Positivity, Thinking

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• Self-confidence is apt to address itself to an imaginary dullness in others; as people who are well off speak in a cajoling tone to the poor.

  George Eliot

  Self Confidence, People, Addresses

  George Eliot (2015). “Daniel Deronda”, p.46, Booklassic

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