Other related topics at:
Peoples and Places
263. Cities; Country life
"No wise man will go to live in the country, unless he has
something 
to do
which can be better done in the country. For
instance, if he is to shut himself up for a year to study
science, it is better to look out to the fields, than to an
opposite wall. Then, if a man walks out in the country, there is
nobody to keep him from walking in again: but if a man walks out
in London, he is not sure when he will walk in again. A great
city is, to be sure, the school for studying life."
Boswell: Life
Link
1,785. Boredom; Cities; Country
Life
"They who have already enjoyed the crowds and noise of the great
city, know their desire to return is little more than the
restlessness of a vacant mind, that they are not so much led by
hope as driven by disgust, and wish rather to leave the country
than to see the town."
Johnson: Idler #80 (October 27, 1759)
Link
1,787. Cities; Country Life;
Humanity
"The uniform necessities of human nature produce in a great
measure uniformity of life, and for part of the day make one
place like another; to dress and to undress, to eat and to sleep,
are the same in London as in the country."
Johnson: Idler #80 (October 27, 1759)
Link
