Whatever you are by nature, keep to it; never desert your line of talent. Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed.

Quote by Sydney Smith

Topics: Sydney Smith Quotes

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...

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...

The object of preaching is to constantly remind mankind of what they keep forgetting; not...

The object of preaching is to constantly remind mankind of what they keep forgetting; not...

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...

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

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

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.

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...

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

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

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.

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...

I look upon Switzerland as an inferior sort of Scotland.

I look upon Switzerland as an inferior sort of Scotland.

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...

As the French say, there are three sexes - men, women, and clergymen.

As the French say, there are three sexes - men, women, and clergymen.

Find fault when you must find fault in private, and if possible sometime after the...

Find fault when you must find fault in private, and if possible sometime after the...

Madam, I have been looking for a person who disliked gravy all my life; let...

Madam, I have been looking for a person who disliked gravy all my life; let...

Solitude cherishes great virtues and destroys little ones.

Solitude cherishes great virtues and destroys little ones.

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...

When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of...

When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of...

He that is pushing his predecessors into the gulf of obscurity, cannot but sometimes suspect,...

He that is pushing his predecessors into the gulf of obscurity, cannot but sometimes suspect,...

Good manners are the technique of expressing considerations for the feelings of others.

Good manners are the technique of expressing considerations for the feelings of others.