Sydney Smith Quotes

Do not try to push your way through to the front ranks of your profession; do not run after distinctions and rewards; but do your utmost to find an entry into the world of beauty.

What would life be without arithmetic, but a scene of horrors?

The truth is, that most men want knowledge, not for itself, but for the superiority which knowledge confers; and the means they employ to secure this superiority, are as wrong as the ultimate object, for no man can ever end with being superior, who will not begin with being inferior.

Jika anda membuat seseorang bahagia hari ini,
Anda juga membuat dia berbahagia dua puluh tahun lagi, saat ia mengenang peristiwa itu.

Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl
And, scarce suspected, animate the whole.

Praise is the best diet for us, after all.

I have no relish for the country; it is a kind of healthy grave.

Brevity in writing is
what charity is to all other virtues — righteousness is nothing
without the one,
nor authorship without the other.

[He] has not body enough to cover his mind decently with; his intellect is improperly exposed.

Truth is its [justice's] handmaid, freedom is its child, peace is its companion, safety walks in its steps, victory follows in its train; it is the brightest emanation from the Gospel; it is the greatest attribute of God.

Every rock in the ocean where a cormorant can perch is occupied by our troops — has a governor, deputy-governor, storekeeper, and deputy-storekeeper — and will soon have an archdeacon and a bishop. Military colleges, with thirty-four professors, educating seventeen ensigns per annum, being half an ensign for each professor, with every species of nonsense, athletic, sartorial, and plumigerous.

How can a bishop marry? How can he flirt? The most he can say is, "I will see you in the vestry after service."

It is the safest to be moderately base — to be flexible in shame, and to be always ready for what is generous, good, and just, when anything is to be gained by virtue.

I have, alas, only one illusion left, and that is the Archbishop of Canterbury.

If you want to improve your understanding, drink coffee.