Quotation by

Samuel Johnson

Small debts are like small shot they are rattling on every side, and can scarcely be escaped without a wound: great debts are like cannon of loud noise, but little danger.

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Understanding this quote AI Analysis

Samuel Johnson is saying that small debts are annoying and constantly cause trouble, making it hard to avoid harm from them. In contrast, large debts may seem frightening and noisy, but they are less likely to cause direct damage.

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A just and reasonable modesty does not only recommend eloquence, but sets off every great talent which a man can be possessed of.
To have a great man for a friend seems pleasant to those who have never tried it those who have, fear it.
Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.

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I wear black skinny-fit jeans - I can't get away from them. It's funny because I wore baggy jeans for ages, then one day my friend convinced me to try on a skinny pair and I thought they were great.
Nobody, I think, ought to read poetry, or look at pictures or statues, who cannot find a great deal more in them than the poet or artist has actually expressed. Their highest merit is suggestiveness.
I remember a great America where we made everything. There was a time when the only thing you got from Japan was a really bad cheap transistor radio that some aunt gave you for Christmas.