Samuel Johnson's Famous Quote on London and Life

The full quote by Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709–1784), recorded by his biographer James Boswell, is:

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."

Context: Spoken on September 20, 1777, during a conversation with Boswell. Johnson, a lifelong Londoner who arrived penniless in 1737, celebrated the city's inexhaustible variety—intellectual society, theater, markets, parks, commerce, and the constant parade of humanity. The quote endures as the definitive literary endorsement of urban vitality.