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Virtue and Vice
131. Drinking; Moderation
"Sir, I have no objection to a man's drinking wine, if he can do
it in moderation. I found myself apt to go to excess in it, and
therefore, after having been for some time without it, on account
of illness, I thought it better not to return to it. Every man
is to judge for himself, according to the effects which he
experiences."
Boswell: Life
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1,120. Equanimity; Life; Moderation;
Myopia; Perspective
"The province of prudence lies between the greatest things and
the least; some surpass our power by their magnitude, and some
escape our notice by their number and their frequency. But the
indispensable business of life will afford sufficient exercise to
every human understanding; and such is the limitation of the
human powers that, by attention to trifles, we must let things of
importance pass unobserved; when we examine a mite with a glass,
we see nothing but a mite."
Johnson: Rambler #112 (April 13, 1751)
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1,125. Capital Punishment; Deterrence;
Justice; Moderation; Perspective
"To equal robbery with murder is to reduce murder to robbery, to
confound in common minds the gradations of iniquity, and incite
the commission of a greater crime to prevent the detection of a
less. If only murder were punished with death, very few robbers
would stain their hands in blood; but when by the last act of
cruelty no new danger is incurred and greater security may be
obtained, upon what principle shall we bid them forbear?"
Johnson: Rambler #114 (April 20, 1751)
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1,203. Influence; Justice;
Moderation
"To scatter praise or blame without regard to justice is to
destroy the distinction of good and evil. Many have no other
test of actions than general opinion; and all are so far
influenced by a sense of reputation that they are often
restrained by fear of reproach, and excited by hope of honour,
when other principles have lost their power."
Johnson: Rambler #136 (July 6, 1751)
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