Quote by Samuel Johnson
It is easy to talk of sitting at home contented, when others are seeing or making shows. But not to have been where it is supposed, and seldom supposed falsely, that all would go if they could; to be able to say nothing when everyone is talking; to have no opinion when everyone is judging; to hear exclamations of rapture without power to depress; to listen to falsehoods without right to contradict, is, after all, a state of temporary inferiority, in which the mind is rather hardened by stubbornness, than supported by fortitude. If the world be worth winning let us enjoy it, if it is to be despised let us despise it by conviction. But the world is not to be despised but as it is compared with something better.
Summary
This quote highlights the idea of feeling left out or inferior when one is not partaking in the social activities or discussions that everyone else is engaged in. The speaker suggests that although it may be easy to claim contentment in one's solitude, there is a sense of temporary inferiority that arises from not being able to participate or express one's own thoughts and opinions. The quote also emphasizes the importance of comparing the world to something better in order to determine its worth or the need to despise it.
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