Quotes by Ben Jonson

“He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity.”

“Words borrowed of antiquity do lend a kind of majesty to style, and are not without their delight sometimes.”

“Queen and huntress, chaste and fair,Now the sun is laid to sleep,Seated in thy silver chair,State in wonted manner keep:Hesperus entreats thy light,Goddess excellently bright.Earth, let not thy env...”

“Language most shews a man: Speak, that I may see thee.”

“For a man to write well, there are required three necessariesto read the best authors, observe the best speakers, and much exercise of his own style.”

“There was never a great genius without a touch of madness.”

“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”

“I feel my griefs too, and there scarce is groundUpon my flesh t'inflict another wound.Yet dare I not complain, or wish for deathWith holy Paul; lest it be thought the breathOf discontent; or that t...”

“Many might go to heaven with half the labor they go to hell.”

“Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till they be fat, and then they bleed.”

“Riches, the dumb god that giv'st all men tongues, / That canst do nought, and yet mak'st men do all things; / The price of souls; even hell, with thee to boot, / Is made worth heaven!”

“Indeed there's a woundy luck in names.”

“He knows not his own strength that has not met adversity.”

“True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in the worth and choice.”

“Good men are the stars, the planets of the ages wherein they live, and illustrate the times.”

“They say Princes learn no art truly, but the art of horsemanship. The reason is, the brave beast is no flatterer. He will throw a prince as soon as his groom.”

“Success produces confidence; confidence relaxes industry, and negligence ruins the reputation which accuracy had raised.”

“Art hath an enemy called ignorance.”

“Underneath this stone doth lie As much beauty as could die.”

“Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee.”