Oliver Goldsmith quotes: wise famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Oliver Goldsmith

Oliver Goldsmith Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from Oliver Goldsmith on Wise Famous Quotes.

Though very poor, may still be very blest.

At this he laughed, and so did we: the jests of the rich are ever successful.

Such dainties to them, their health it might hurt; It 's like sending them ruffles when wanting a shirt.

Those who think must govern those that toil.

If one wishes to become rich they must appear rich.

A volcano may be considered as a cannon of immense size.

If the soul be happily disposed, every thing becomes capable of affording entertainment, and distress will almost want a name.

Hope, like the gleaming taper

What is genius or courage without a heart?

The genteel thing is the genteel thing any time, if as be that a gentleman bees in a concatenation accordingly.

Fear guides more than gratitude.

He who fights and runs away
May live to fight another day;
But he who is battle slain
Can never rise to fight again

Silence gives consent.

Tenderness is a virtue.

By every remove I only drag a greater length of chain.

A silent address is the genuine eloquence of sincerity.

But winter lingering chills the lap of May.

For just experience tells, in every soil, That those that think must govern those that toil.

In arguing one should meet serious pleading with humor, and humor with serious pleading.

True genius walks along a line, and, perhaps, our greatest pleasure is in seeing it so often near falling, without being ever actually down.

Prudery is ignorance.

A flattering painter, who made it his care To draw men as they ought to be, not as they are.

Every want that stimulates the breast becomes a source of pleasure when redressed.

Even children follow'd with endearing wile, And pluck'd his gown, to share the good man's smile.

Our pleasures are short, and can only charm at intervals; love is a method of protraction our greatest pleasure.

Who pepper'd the highest was surest to please.

Alas! the joys that fortune brings
Are trifling, and decay,
And those who prize the trifling things,
More trifling still than they.

To a philosopher no circumstance, however trifling, is too minute.

Creation's heir, the world, the world is mine!

It world be well had we more misers than we have among us.

An Englishman fears contempt more than death.

Little things are great to little men.

See me, how calm I am.
Ay, people are generally calm at the misfortunes of others.

Who mix'd reason with pleasure, and wisdom with mirth: If he had any faults, he has left us in doubt.

There are some faults so nearly allied to excellence that we can scarce weed out the vice without eradicating the virtue.

We are all sure of two things, at least; we shall suffer and we shall all die.

Silence is become his mother tongue.

As for murmurs, mother, we grumble a little now and then, to be sure; but there's no love lost between us.

As few subjects are more interesting to society, so few have been more frequently written upon than the education of youth.

Logicians have but ill defined As rational the human mind; Reason, they say, belongs to man, But let them prove it if they can.

Good counsel rejected returns to enrich the givers bosom.

We sometimes had those little rubs which Providence sends to enhance the value of its favors.

Trade's proud empire hastes to swift decay.

I have known a German Prince with more titles than subjects, and a Spanish nobleman with more names than shirts.

In a polite age almost every person becomes a reader, and receives more instruction from the Press than the Pulpit.

To make a fine gentleman, several trades are required, but chiefly a barber.

Some fleeting good, that mocks me with the view.

Blest that abode, where want and pain repair, And every stranger finds a ready chair.

Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway, and fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray.

Whenever you see a gaming table be sure to know fortune is not there. Rather she is always in the company of industry.

Nothing is so contemptible as that affectation of wisdom, which some display, by universal incredulity.

And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, that one small head could carry all he knew.

If we do not find happiness in the present moment, in what shall we find it?

All the bloomy flush of life is fled.

Write how you want, the critic shall show the world you could have written better.

In two opposite opinions, if one be perfectly reasonable, the other can't be perfectly right.

He watched and wept and prayed and felt for all

Life at the greatest and best is but a froward child, that must be humored and coaxed a little till it falls asleep, and then all the care is over.

It seemed to me pretty plain, that they had more of love than matrimony in them.

Those who place their affections at first on trifles for amusement, will find these trifles become at last their most serious concerns.

Vain, very vain is my search to find; that happiness which only centers in the mind.

Age, that lessens the enjoyment of life, increases our desire of living

And fools who came to scoff remain'd to pray.

Ridicule has even been the most powerful enemy of enthusiasm, and properly the only antagonist that can be opposed to it with success.

Fancy restrained may be compared to a fountain, which plays highest by diminishing the aperture.

In all the silent manliness of grief.

Modesty seldom resides in a breast that is not enriched with nobler virtues.

Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no fibs.

All is not gold that glitters,
Pleasure seems sweet, but proves a glass of bitters

People seldom improve when they have no model but themselves to copy after

And what is friendship but a name, A charm that lulls to sleep, A shade that follows wealth or fame, And leaves the wretch to weep?

Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule the law.

Be not affronted at a joke. If one throw salt at thee, thou wilt receive no harm, unless thou art raw.

They please, are pleas'd, they give to get esteem Till, seeming blest, they grow to what they seem.

Unequal combinations are always disadvantageous to the weaker side.

The very pink of perfection.

A man's own heart must ever be given to gain that of another.

Conscience is a coward, and those faults it has not strength enough to prevent it seldom has justice enough to accuse.

The world is like a vast sea: mankind like a vessel sailing on its tempestuous bosom ... [T]he sciences serve us for oars.

Pride in their port, defiance in their eye, I see the lords of humankind pass by.

Thus let me hold thee to my heart,
And every care resign:
And we shall never, never part,
My life-my all that's mine!

People seek within a short span of life to satisfy a thousand desires, each of which is insatiable.

What we place most hopes upon, generally proves most fatal.

Hope is such a bait, it covers any hook.

One writer, for instance, excels at a plan or a title page, another works away at the body of the book, and a third is a dab at an index.

It has been well observed that few are better qualified to give others advice than those who have taken the least of it themselves.

Let observation with observant view,
Observe mankind from China to Peru.

The sports of children satisfy the child.

So the loud torrent, and the whirlwind's roar, But bind him to his native mountains more.

He cast off his friends as a huntsman his pack, For he knew when he pleas'd he could whistle them back.

law grinds the poor, rich men rule the law

A man he was to all the country dear, And passing rich with forty pounds a year.

Persecution is a tribute the great must always pay for preeminence.

Turn, gentle Hermit of the Dale, And guide my lonely way To where yon taper cheers the vale With hospitable ray.

To aim at excellence, our reputation, and friends, and all must be ventured; to aim at the average we run no risk and provide little service.

The nakedness of the indignant world may be cloathed from the trimmings of the vain.

Politeness is the result of good sense and good nature.

A book may be very amusing with numerous errors, or it may be very dull without a single absurdity.

Them that asks no questions isn't told a lie.

Novels teach the youthful mind to sigh after happiness that never existed.