Sir, you must not neglect doing a thing immediately good from fear of remote evil; - from fear of its being abused.
Interpretation
This quote advises against hesitating to do good deeds due to the fear of potential negative consequences.
Samuel Johnson emphasizes the importance of taking action to do good, even when there is a concern that the outcome may not be entirely positive. He illustrates the idea that one should not let the fear of possible abuse or misinterpretation of a good deed prevent them from acting with kindness and generosity. This wisdom urges us to prioritize our intentions and the immediate positive impact of our actions over hypothetical fears of potential misuse.
In practice
A speaker at a charity event can use this quote to encourage contributions without fear of misallocation.
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.
You learn in life that the only person you can really correct and change is yourself.
We do not progress from error to truth, but from truth to truth
You never get over losses. I've never gotten over one loss I've had in my career. They always stick with me.
Mankind's greatest error, the biggest deception of the past thousand years is this: to confuse poverty with stupidity.
For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain.
Investigate what is, and not what pleases.
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