Oliver Goldsmith Quotes

They liked the book the better the more it made them cry.

Handsome is that handsome does.

The watchdog's voice that bayed the whispering wind,
And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind.

And learn the luxury of doing good.

Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long.

[To Mr. Johnson] If you were to make little fishes talk, they would talk like whales.

O Luxury! thou curst by Heaven's decree!

Baw! Damme, but I'll fight you both, one after the other!
With baskets.

The whitewashed wall, the nicely sanded floor,
The varnished clock that clicked behind the door;
The chest contrived a double debt to pay,
A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day.

All his faults are such that one loves him still the better for them.

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

Vain, very vain, my weary search to find
That bliss which only centers in the mind.

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

The very pink of perfection.

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?