Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmithwas an Irish novelist, playwright and poet, who is best known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield, his pastoral poem The Deserted Village, and his plays The Good-Natur'd Manand She Stoops to Conquer. He is thought to have written the classic children's tale The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth10 November 1730
CountryIreland
use coins may
The volumes of antiquity, like medals, may very well serve to amuse the curious, but the works of the moderns, like the current coin of a kingdom, are much better for immediate use.
land limits splendid
How wide the limits stand Between a splendid and a happy land.
soul weakness pleasure
And the weak soul, within itself unbless'd, Leans for all pleasure on another's breast.
sports children
The sports of children satisfy the child.
ignorance stupidity badges
Paltry affectation, strained allusions, and disgusting finery are easily attained by those who choose to wear them; they are but too frequently the badges of ignorance or of stupidity, whenever it would endeavor to please.
half crowns appearance
An emperor in his nightcap will not meet with half the respect of an emperor with a crown.
pain age cups
The youth who follows his appetites too soon seizes the cup, before it has received its best ingredients, and by anticipating his pleasures, robs the remaining parts of life of their share, so that his eagerness only produces manhood of imbecility and an age of pain.
gentleman barbers fine
To make a fine gentleman, several trades are required, but chiefly a barber.
philosophy should increase
Philosophy ... should not pretend to increase our present stock, but make us economists of what we are possessed of.
gratitude lying men
Fear guides more to their duty than gratitude; for one man who is virtuous from the love of virtue, from the obligation he thinks he lies under to the Giver of all, there are ten thousand who are good only from their apprehension of punishment.
wise country writing
Whatever be the motives which induce men to write,--whether avarice or fame,--the country becomes more wise and happy in which they most serve for instructors.
wretchedness beggary
Aspiring beggary is wretchedness itself.
hands selfishness virtue
While selfishness joins hands with no one of the virtues, benevolence is allied to them all.
nature book volume
The volume of Nature is the book of knowledge.