No, Sir; to act from pure benevolence is not possible for finite beings. Human… — Samuel Johnson
No, Sir; to act from pure benevolence is not possible for finite beings. Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or some other motive.
Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D, by James Boswell · 1776
★ 5.4Other tags relating to this quote
Genre
Time
Person
Provenance
Current citation
Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, written by James Boswell, edited by David Womersley. Penguin Classics, 2008.
Original citation
Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in journal entry, written by James Boswell. 26 Apr. 1776.