Joseph Addison

English essayist, poet, playwright and politician (1672–1719)

7 quotes in the MindQuotes library.

About

Joseph Addison was born on 1 May 1672 in Milston, Wiltshire, son of the Rev. Lancelot Addison. Educated at Charterhouse and Oxford, he became a fellow of Magdalen College. With Richard Steele, he co-founded The Spectator (1711–1712), creating the character Sir Roger de Coverley and contributing 274 essays. His tragedy Cato (1713) was highly successful. A committed Whig, he held several government posts, including Secretary of State. He died on 17 June 1719 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

* 1672-05-01 — † 1719-06-17

Major works

The Campaign (1705)poem
Cato (1713)tragedy
The Spectator (1711)periodical
The Tatler (1709)periodical

Key milestones

1689Elected fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.
1711Co-founded The Spectator with Richard Steele.
1717Appointed Secretary of State for the Southern Department.

Themes

Morality and virtueSocial criticismWhig politicsEnglish national characterNeoclassicism

Sources: britannica.com · westminster-abbey.org

“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”

— Joseph AddisonTheme · Education

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“Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body.”

— Joseph AddisonTheme · Health

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“Love is a second life; it grows into the soul, warms every vein, and beats in every pulse.”

— Joseph AddisonTheme · Love

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“The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”

— Joseph AddisonTheme · Happiness

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“It is the privilege of posterity to set matters right between those antagonists who, by their rivalry for greatness, divided a whole age.”

— Joseph AddisonTheme · History

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“If men would consider not so much wherein they differ, as wherein they agree, there would be far less of uncharitableness and angry feeling in the world.”

— Joseph AddisonTheme · Society

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“The person who has a firm trust in the Supreme Being is powerful in his power, wise by his wisdom, happy by his happiness.”

— Joseph AddisonTheme · Spirituality

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