The thing about performance, even if it's only an illusion, is that it is a celebration of the fact that we do contain within ourselves infinite possibilities.

Quote by Sydney Smith

Topics: Sydney Smith Quotes

That sign of old age, extolling the past at the expense of the present.

That sign of old age, extolling the past at the expense of the present.

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...

I look upon Switzerland as an inferior sort of Scotland.

I look upon Switzerland as an inferior sort of Scotland.

What you don't know would make a great book.

What you don't know would make a great book.

Heat, ma'am! it was so dreadful here, that I found there was nothing left for...

Heat, ma'am! it was so dreadful here, that I found there was nothing left for...

It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do...

It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do...

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 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...

Never give way to melancholy; resist it steadily, for the habit will encroach.

Never give way to melancholy; resist it steadily, for the habit will encroach.

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...

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...

I have, alas, only one illusion left, and that is the Archbishop of Canterbury.

I have, alas, only one illusion left, and that is the Archbishop of Canterbury.

A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little...

A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little...

Live always in the best company when you read.

Live always in the best company when you read.

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.

It resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot be separated, often moving...

It resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot be separated, often moving...

Heaven never helps the men who will not act.

Heaven never helps the men who will not act.

Science is his forte, and omniscience his foible.

Science is his forte, and omniscience his foible.

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...

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

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