Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith
Sydney Smithwas an English wit, writer and Anglican cleric...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionClergyman
Date of Birth3 June 1771
religion vice
What a pity it is that we have no amusements in England but vice and religion!
illusion
I have, alas, only one illusion left, and that is the Archbishop of Canterbury.
chance half join minute others
Never talk for half a minute without pausing and giving others a chance to join in.
invention
Correspondences are like small clothes before the invention of suspenders; it is impossible to keep them up.
constantly human mankind object preaching remind supply
The object of preaching is to constantly remind mankind of what they keep forgetting; not to supply the intellect, but to fortify the feebleness of human resolutions.
french men sexes women
As the French say, there are three sexes - men, women, and clergymen.
man
I never read a book before previewing it; it prejudices a man so.
cold jump scramble stand thinking worth
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.
conversation delightful flashes occasional perfectly silence
He (Macaulay) has occasional flashes of silence that make his conversation perfectly delightful
bishop convinced heard judas succession
Having heard the bishop I am now convinced of the apostolic succession from Judas Iscariot
conversation flashes occasional perfectly silence
He had occasional flashes of silence that made his conversation perfectly delightful.
death deserves preached wild
He deserves to be preached to death by wild curates
intended nature thousand worse
Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed; be anything else and you will be ten thousand times worse than nothing
desert intended line nature thousand whatever worse
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 thousand times worse than nothing.