QuoteProject
There are occasions on which all apology is rudeness.
Samuel Johnson
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Some situations demand honesty over apology, as apologizing may come off as insincere or disrespectful.

Samuel Johnson's quote suggests that in certain circumstances, offering an apology can be counterproductive and even rude. It implies that sincerity and the context of the situation are crucial when addressing grievances; sometimes, it's better to refrain from apologizing in order to maintain genuine communication or when the apology could appear disingenuous.

Themes

ApologyHonestyRelationshipsSincerityCommunication

In practice

Example use cases

During a heated debate, instead of saying 'I'm sorry,' I chose to clarify my point to maintain respect.

More from Samuel Johnson

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.
Samuel JohnsonRead
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.
Samuel JohnsonRead
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.
Samuel JohnsonRead
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.
Samuel JohnsonRead
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.
Samuel JohnsonRead
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.
Samuel JohnsonRead

Similar quotes

Christian virtues unite men. Racism separates them.
Sargent ShriverRead
It sometimes makes people feel better about themselves, you know, to put other people down, or make fun of them, or maybe make mockery of their work and that doesn't make me feel good at all.
Lady GagaRead
I got a few marriage proposals in my 20s. I just wasn't ready. I just knew if I committed, I would've wound up doing something wrong, messing it up. I still felt like I had some living to do.
Queen LatifahRead
It's a taboo that comes back over and over, to suggest that women can feel divided - that you can love your child and want to do everything for it, and at the same time want to put it away from you and reclaim something of yourself.
Rachel CuskRead
A desire for social connection is fundamentally hardwired into our psychology, and so being deprived of it has devastating mental and physical consequences. Yet we live in a society which has become ever more fragmented and atomised.
Owen JonesRead
Two separate beings, in different circumstances, face to face in freedom and seeking justification of their existence through one another, will always live an adventure full of risk and promise." (p. 248)
Simone De BeauvoirRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Samuel Johnson | QuoteProject