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Sydney Smith

Sydney Smith (June 3, 1771, Woodford, Essex, England - February 22, 1845 London), was an English writer and Anglican clergyman

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Live always in the best company when you read.

– Sydney Smith

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A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort.

– Sydney Smith

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There is one piece of advice, in a life of study, which I think no one will object to and that is, every now and then to be completely idle - to do nothing at all.

– Sydney Smith

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To love and be loved is the great happiness of existence.

– Sydney Smith

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You must not think me necessarily foolish because I am facetious, nor will I consider you necessarily wise because you are grave.

– Sydney Smith

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He not only overflowed with learning, he stood in the slop.

– Sydney Smith

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Madam, I have been looking for a person who disliked gravy all my life; let us swear eternal friendship.

– Sydney Smith

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A comfortable house is a great source of happiness. It ranks immediately after health and a good conscience.

– Sydney Smith

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A great deal of talent is lost to the world for the want of a little courage.

– Sydney Smith

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Correspondences are like small clothes before the invention of suspenders; it is impossible to keep them up.

– Sydney Smith

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Errors to be dangerous must have a great deal of truth mingled with them. It is only from this alliance that they can ever obtain an extensive circulation.

– Sydney Smith

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Find fault when you must find fault in private, and if possible sometime after the offense, rather than at the time.

– Sydney Smith

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Have the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order to avoid the calamity of being ignorant of everything.

– Sydney Smith

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He had occasional flashes of silence, that made his conversation perfectly delightful.

– Sydney Smith

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His enemies might have said before that he talked rather too much; but now he has occasional flashes of silence, that make his conversation perfectly delightful.

– Sydney Smith

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

– Sydney Smith

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

– Sydney Smith

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I never read a book before reviewing it; it prejudices a man so.

– Sydney Smith

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It is always right that a man should be able to render a reason for the faith that is within him.

– Sydney Smith

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It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can do only a little. Do what you can.

– Sydney Smith

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It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little. Do what you can.

– Sydney Smith

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It resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot be separated, often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them.

– Sydney Smith

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Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love and to be loved is the greatest happiness of existence.

– Sydney Smith

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Never try to reason the prejudice out of a man. It was not reasoned into him, and cannot be reasoned out.

– Sydney Smith

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Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.

– Sydney Smith

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There is one piece of advice, in a life of study, which I think no one will object to; and that is, every now and then to be completely idle - to do nothing at all.

– Sydney Smith

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To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can.

– Sydney Smith

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What would the world do without tea? - how did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea.

– Sydney Smith

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Whatever you are by nature, keep to it never desert your line of talent. Be what nature intended you for and you will succeed.

– Sydney Smith

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Whatever you are by nature, keep to it; never desert your line of talent. Be what nature intended you for and you will succeed.

– Sydney Smith

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Whatever you are from nature, keep to it; never desert your own line of talent. Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed; be anything else, and you will be ten thousands times worse than nothing.

– Sydney Smith

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alma_s
I had saved this quote some time ago but part of it got erased from my white board. Does anyone know of the rest of this quote? I believe it goes like this: "It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little. Do what you can. Do all the good that you can do for all that you can, as long as ever you can." -The late Rev Sidney Smith more »
LikeReply3 years ago