Richard Brinsley Sheridan Quotes (1751-1816)

“The Right Honorable gentleman is indebted to his memory for his jests and to his imagination for his facts.”

“One moral's plain, * * * without more fuss; Man's social happiness all rests on us: Through all the drama—whether damn'd! or not— Love gilds the scene, and women guide the plot.”

“He said the facts that made up the volume of narrative were unparalleled in atrociousness, and that nothing equal in criminality was to be traced, either in ancient or modern history, in the correct periods of Tacitus or the luminous page of Gibbon.”

“Mr. Sheridan opened the third charge against Mr. Hastings... The subject of this charge was peculiarly fitted for displaying all the pathetic powers of eloquence; and never were they displayed with greater skill, force, and elegance, than upon this occasion. For five hours and an half Mr. Sheridan kept the attention of the house (which from the expectation of the day was uncommonly crowded) fascinated by his eloquence; and when he sat down, the whole house — the members, peers, and strangers — involuntarily joined in a tumult of applause, and adopted a mode of expressing their approbation, new and irregular in that house, by loudly and repeatedly clapping their hands.”

“Whatever Sheridan has done or chosen to do has been, par excellence, always the best of its kind. He has written the best comedy (School for Scandal), the best opera, (The Duenna—in my mind far before that St. Giles's lampoon, The Beggar's Opera,) the best farce, (The Critic—it is only too good for an after-piece,) and the best Address, (Monologue on Garrick,)—and, to crown all, delivered the very best oration (the famous Begum Speech) ever conceived or heard in this country!”

“In the same book [The Columbian Orator], I met with one of Sheridan's mighty speeches on and in behalf of Catholic emancipation. These were choice documents to me. I read them over and over again with unabated interest. They gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul, which had frequently flashed through my mind, and died away for want of utterance. The moral which I gained from the dialogue was the power of truth over the conscience of even a slaveholder. What I got from Sheridan was a bold denunciation of slavery, and a powerful vindication of human rights.”

“Mankiewicz started his own independent company in Italy, and spoke to me a few weeks ago of being anxious to make another classic with me and (conceivably) Audrey Hepburn. He suggested Twelfth Night but I tried very hard to woo him to the idea of The School for Scandal, which I have long thought might be an excellent vehicle for the screen, especially with an all-English star cast. For on the stage one can never afford to cast it up to the hilt, whereas even the smallest parts could be played by stars in a picture. Sheridan's style is so much more leisurely than Shakespeare's as regards construction, and would allow of cuts and transpositions without harming the quality of the text. The order of scenes — so important in Shakespeare — matters far less in Sheridan, and the humour seems to me universally comprehensible today for audiences everywhere, whereas in Shakespeare — particularly the comedies — there are so many archaic jokes that you have to keep cutting or leaving dead wood, especially with the low comedy parts and passages.”

“He was handsome, not merely in the eyes of a partial sister, but generally allowed to be so. His cheeks had the glow of health, his eyes,—the finest in the world,—the brilliancy of genius, and were soft as a tender and affectionate heart could render them. The same playful fancy, the same sterling and innoxious wit, that was shown afterwards in his writings, cheered and delighted the family circle. I admired—I almost adored him. I would most willingly have sacrificed my life for him.”

“Mr. Sheridan is one of the most perfect comic writers I know, and unites the most uncommon qualities — his plots are sufficiently deep, without the clumsy entanglement and muddy profundity of Congreve — characters strictly in nature — wit without affectation. What talents! — The complete orator in the senate, or in Westminster Hall — and the excellent dramatist in the most difficult province of the drama!”