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.

Quote by Sydney Smith

Topics: Sydney Smith Quotes

Have the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order to...

Have the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order to...

Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed; be anything else and you...

Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed; be anything else and you...

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

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

No man can ever end with being superior who will not begin with being inferior.

No man can ever end with being superior who will not begin with being inferior.

The observances of the church concerning feasts and fasts are tolerably well-kept, since the rich...

The observances of the church concerning feasts and fasts are tolerably well-kept, since the rich...

My living in Yorkshire was so far out of the way, that it was eleven...

My living in Yorkshire was so far out of the way, that it was eleven...

In composing, as a general rule, run your pen through every other word you have...

In composing, as a general rule, run your pen through every other word you have...

Manners are like the shadows of virtues, they are the momentary display of those qualities...

Manners are like the shadows of virtues, they are the momentary display of those qualities...

Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love and to be loved is...

Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love and to be loved is...

Among the smaller duties of life I hardly know any one more important than that...

Among the smaller duties of life I hardly know any one more important than that...

To business that we love we rise bedtime, and go to't with delight.

To business that we love we rise bedtime, and go to't with delight.

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for...

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for...

Poverty us no disgrace to a man, but it is confoundedly inconvenient.

Poverty us no disgrace to a man, but it is confoundedly inconvenient.

What would life be without arithmetic, but a scene of horrors?

What would life be without arithmetic, but a scene of horrors?

The thing about performance, even if it's only an illusion, is that it is a...

The thing about performance, even if it's only an illusion, is that it is a...

To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and...

To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and...

Man could direct his ways by plain reason, and support his life by tasteless food,...

Man could direct his ways by plain reason, and support his life by tasteless food,...

It is cheerful to God when you rejoice or laugh from the bottom of your...

It is cheerful to God when you rejoice or laugh from the bottom of your...

Laugh until your body aches, cry until you start to shake, live like the world...

Laugh until your body aches, cry until you start to shake, live like the world...

Laughter is a form of internal jogging. It moves your internal organs around. It enhances...

Laughter is a form of internal jogging. It moves your internal organs around. It enhances...