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
agree sugar
Our Garrick's a salad; for in him we see, Oil, vinegar, sugar and saltiness agree
brows cap instead night stocking
A night-cap decked his brows instead of bay, / A cap by night - a stocking all the day!
guarded requires scarcely sentinel virtue worth
The virtue which requires to be ever guarded is scarcely worth the sentinel
delusions harmless tend
I was never much displeased with those harmless delusions that tend to make us more happy.
living
By the living jingo, she was all of a muck of sweat.
argument conduct wrong
His conduct still right, with his argument wrong
happy limits splendid stand wide
How wide the limits stand / Between a splendid and an happy land.
fond former joys pain past recurring thou turning
O Memory, thou fond deceiver, Still importunate and vain, To former joys recurring ever, And turning all the past to pain
coat priest religion shoes
As I take my shoes from the shoemaker, and my coat from the tailor, so I take my religion from the priest
felicity ourselves
Still to ourselves in every place consigned, / Our own felicity we make or find.
copy improve model people seldom themselves
People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy after
applause happiness keeping seeks
He who seeks for applause only from without has all his happiness in another's keeping
failings
And e'en his failings leaned to Virtue's side.
beneath sweet
Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath the thorn.