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Sydney Smith Quotes (1771-1845)
Philosopher
About Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 β 22 February 1845) was an English clergyman, critic, philosopher and wit.
Best Sydney Smith Quotes
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Sydney Smith quotes.
βAh! what you don't know would make a great book.β
βShe looked as if she had walked straight out of the ark.β
βI look upon Switzerland as an inferior sort of Scotland.β
βWhat would life be without arithmetic, but a scene of horrors?β
βAs the French say, there are three sexes β men, women, and clergymen.β
βThat knuckle-end of Englandβthat land of Calvin, oatcakes, and sulphur.β
βHe was a one-book man. Some men have only one book in them; others, a library.β
βIt requires a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding.β
βI never read a book before reviewing it: it prejudices a man so.β
βSerenely full, the epicure would say,
Fate cannot harm me, I have dined today.β
Fate cannot harm me, I have dined today.β
βGreat men hallow a whole people and lift up all who live in their time.β
Sydney Smith Quotes by Topic
Find exactly what you are looking for by browsing this categorized list of Sydney Smith quotes by topic.
Sydney Smith on Character 3 quotes
βHe [Macaulay] is like a book in breeches.β
Sydney Smith on Government 3 quotes
βMen who prefer any load of infamy, however great, to any pressure of taxation, however light.β
Sydney Smith on Happiness 2 quotes
View all 2 quotes on Happiness →Sydney Smith on Society 2 quotes
βAh, you flavour everything; you are the vanille of society.β
Sydney Smith on Knowledge 2 quotes
View all 2 quotes on Knowledge →Sydney Smith on Scotland 2 quotes
βThat knuckle-end of Englandβthat land of Calvin, oat-cakes, and sulphur.β
Sydney Smith on Ability 2 quotes
βThe world is like a board with holes in it, and the square men have got into the round holes.β
Sydney Smith on Friendship 2 quotes
βMadam, I have been looking for a person who disliked gravy all my life; let us swear eternal friendship.β
Sydney Smith on Wit 2 quotes
βSurprise is so essential an ingredient of wit that no wit will bear repetition;βat least the original electrical feeling produced by any piece of wit can never be renewed.β
Sydney Smith on Appearance
βLooked as if she had walked straight out of the Ark.β
What Sydney Smith Said About Others
Discover personal opinions Sydney Smith shared regarding contemporaries.
Sydney Smith on John Wilson Croker
βCroker is the calumniator general of the human race.β
Sydney Smith on Lord Byron
Sydney Smith on Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey
βDamn the Solar System. Bad light; planets too distant; pestered with comets; feeble contrivance; could make a better one myself.β
Sydney Smith on George Berkeley
βBishop Berkeley destroyed this world in one volume octavo; and nothing remained after his time, but mindβwhich experienced a similar fate from the hand of Mr. Hume, in 1737.β
About Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 β 22 February 1845) was an English clergyman, critic, philosopher and wit.