Samuel Johnson? Noah Webster? Orison Swett Marden? Charles Caleb Colton? Tryon Edwards?
Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1750 Samuel Johnson wrote a piece in the London periodical “The Rambler” in which he discussed the philosophy of Stoicism:[1] 1756, The Rambler of Samuel Johnson (Reprinted), Volume 1 of 4, Fourth Edition, Issue Date: April 7, 1750, Quote page 28, Printed for A, Millar, in the Strand, London. (Google Books Full View) link
That man should never suffer his happiness to depend upon external circumstances, is one of the chief precepts of the Stoical philosophy. . .
Johnson discussed a poet who fantasized about traveling to America to attain a life of leisure and retreat. Yet, Johnson believed that the cause of the poet’s unhappiness was internal and achieving contentment required a mental shift. The word “trial” was spelled “tryal”. Boldface added to excepts by QI:[2] 1756, The Rambler of Samuel Johnson (Reprinted), Volume 1 of 4, Fourth Edition, Issue Date: April 7, 1750, Quote page 33, Printed for A, Millar, in the Strand, London. (Google Books Full View) link
He would, upon the tryal, have been soon convinced, that the fountain of content must spring up in the mind; and that he who has so little knowledge of human nature, as to seek happiness by changing any thing but his own dispositions, will waste his life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the griefs which he purposes to remove.
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References
↑1 | 1756, The Rambler of Samuel Johnson (Reprinted), Volume 1 of 4, Fourth Edition, Issue Date: April 7, 1750, Quote page 28, Printed for A, Millar, in the Strand, London. (Google Books Full View) link |
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↑2 | 1756, The Rambler of Samuel Johnson (Reprinted), Volume 1 of 4, Fourth Edition, Issue Date: April 7, 1750, Quote page 33, Printed for A, Millar, in the Strand, London. (Google Books Full View) link |