Oliver Goldsmith Quotes

On the stage he was natural, simple, affecting, 'Twas only when he was off, he was acting.

Little things are great to little men.

The jests of the rich are ever successful.

I have found by experience that they who have spent all their lives in cities contract not only an effeminacy of habit, but of thinking.

Of praise a mere glutton, he swallow'd what came, And the puff a dunce, he mistook it for fame; Till his relish grown callous, almost to displease, Who pepper'd the highest was surest to please.

Wept o'er his wounds, or tales of sorrow done, Shoulder'd his crutch, and shew'd how fields were won.

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

O Luxury! thou curst by Heaven's decree!

The first blow is half the battle.

Take a dollar from a thousand and it will be a thousand no more.

What real good does an addition to a fortune already sufficient procure? Not any. Could the great man, by having his fortune increased, increase also his appetites, then precedence might be attended with real amusement.

To the last moment of his breath, On hope the wretch relies; And even the pang preceding death Bids expectation rise.

Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain.

It is impossible to combat enthusiasm with reason; for though it makes a show of resistance, it soon eludes the pressure, refers you to distinctions not to be understood, and feelings which it cannot explain. A man who would endeavor to fix an enthusiast by argument might as well attempt to spread quicksilver with his finger.

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

I do not love a man who is zealous for nothing.

If one wishes to become rich they must appear rich.

Hope, like the gleaming taper

True generosity is a duty as indispensably necessary as those imposed on us by law.

Like the bee, we should make our industry our amusement.

You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.

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

The very pink of perfection.

I can't say whether we had more wit among us now than usual, but I am certain we had more laughing, which answered the end as well.

The bounds of a man's knowledge are easily concealed, if he has but prudence.

When we take a slight survey of the surface of our globe a thousand objects offer themselves which, though long known, yet still demand our curiosity.

Friendship is made up of esteem and pleasure; pity is composed of sorrow and contempt: the mind may for some time fluctuate between them, but it can never entertain both at once.

Both wit and understanding are trifles without integrity; it is that which gives value to every character. The ignorant peasant, without fault, is greater than the philosopher with many; for what is genius or courage without a heart?

A night-cap deck'd his brows instead of bay,- A cap by night, a stocking all the day.

You will always find that those are most apt to boast of national merit, who have little or not merit of their own to depend on . . .

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

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

Mortifications are often more painful than real calamities.

Girls like to be played with and rumpled a little too sometimes.

As ten millions of circles can never make a square, so the united voice of myriads cannot lend the smallest foundation to falsehood.

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?

As writers become more numerous, it is natural for readers to become more indolent; whence must necessarily arise a desire of attaining knowledge with the greatest possible ease.

A boy will learn more true wisdom in a public school in a year than by a private education in five. It is not from masters, but from their equals, that youth learn a knowledge of the world.

To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.

No one but a fool would measure their satisfaction by what the world thinks of it.

The volumes of antiquity, like medals, may very well serve to amuse the curious, but the works of the moderns, like the current coin of a kingdom, are much better for immediate use.

Death when unmasked shows us a friendly face and is a terror only at a distance.

Error is always talkative.

In arguing too, the parson own'd his skill, For e'en though vanquish'd he could argue still; While words of learned length and thundering sound Amaz'd the gazing rustics rang'd around; And still they gaz'd, and still the wonder grew That one small head could carry all he knew.