Sydney Smith1771–1845The quotations of
Sydney Smith
English wit, writer, Anglican cleric
1771–1845
28 quotes, most often on Clever Jabs, Comedy and Friendship.
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little.
Often credited to Edmund Burke- Lady Holland’s Memoir (1855)
As the French say, there are three sexes — men, women, and clergymen.
Lady Holland’s Memoir (1855), Vol. I, ch. 9, p. 313- Peter Plymley’s Letters (1808), Letter IV
Serenely full, the epicure would say,
Fate cannot harm me, I have dined today.Lady Holland’s Memoir (1855), Vol. I, ch. 11, “Recipe for Salads”, p. 426Economy, in the estimation of common minds, often means the absence of all taste and comfort.
Lady Holland’s Memoir (1855), Vol. I, ch. 8, p. 263My living in Yorkshire was so far out of the way, that it was actually twelve miles from a lemon.
Lady Holland’s Memoir (1855), Vol. I, ch. 9, p. 312It requires a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding.
Lady Holland’s Memoir (1855), Vol. I, ch. 2, pp. 31–32- “The Judge That Smites Contrary to the Law: A Sermon Preached…March 28, 1824”, in The Works of the Rev. Sydney Smith (1860) p. 428
- Lady Holland’s Memoir (1855), Vol. I, ch. 7, p. 205.
Daniel Webster struck me much like a steam-engine in trousers.
Lady Holland’s Memoir (1855), Vol. I, ch. 9, p. 317I have no relish for the country; it is a kind of healthy grave.
Lady Holland’s Memoir (1855), Vol. II, letter to Miss Georgiana Harcourt (1838), p. 410Avoid shame, but do not seek glory: nothing so expensive as glory.
Lady Holland’s Memoir (1855), Vol. I, ch. 4, pp. 134–135Never give way to melancholy; resist it steadily, for the habit will encroach.
Lady Holland’s Memoir (1855), Vol. I, ch. 10, p. 372
