Samuel Johnson Quotes
A patriot is he whose public conduct is regulated by one single motive, the love of his country; who, as an agent in parliament, has, for himself, neither hope nor fear, neither kindness nor resentment, but refers every thing to the common interest
Johnson, Samuel. The Patriot. Addressed to the Electors of Great Britain. T. Cadell, 1774.
See John F. Kennedy's famous 1961 inaugural quote {589867} for a more modern articulation targeted at all. The above quotation is from the Anthony R. Ferris translation of 1958. In an interesting play of influences, note the following Andrew Dib Sherfan’s 1975 translation done after the Kennedy inaugural address.
This proverb describes a philosophy which is very different from traditional American values. Ironically, in Chinese History, both the right wing and left wing governments have espoused the philosophy implicit in this proverb. Both the Nationalist and Communist factions of the Chinese Civil War both demanded these values.
He had been attacked by the extremists in his own party for serving as the Ambassador to China during a Democratic administration. Huntsman, fluent in Chinese and very familiar with Chinese culture, was a very successful Governor and was recognized by President Obama as being uniquely qualified and as a Patriot he made this great statement about service to country
Samuel Johnson, often referred to as Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. Religiously, he was a devout Anglican, and politically a committed Tory. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography describes Johnson as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history". He is the subject of James Boswell's The Life of Samuel Johnson, described by Walter Jackson Bate as "the most famous single work of biographical art in the whole of literature".
