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Oliver Goldsmith Quotes

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Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish novelist, playwright, poet, and physician. He is best known for his novel 'The Vicar of Wakefield' and his plays 'She Stoops to Conquer' and 'The Good-Natur'd Man'. Goldsmith's works are characterized by their wit, humor, and moral depth.

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Famous Oliver Goldsmith Quotes

“The volume of Nature is the book of knowledge.”

Book Nature Volume

Book:The Beauties of Goldsmith

Source: The Beauties of Goldsmith

“One writer, for instance, excels at a plan or a title page, another works away at the body of the book, and a third is a dab at an index.”

Book Body Plans Pages Thirds Instance Titles Dabs

Book:The miscellaneous works of Oliver Goldsmith

Source: The miscellaneous works of Oliver Goldsmith

“Books are necessary to correct the vices of the polite; but those vices are ever changing, and the antidote should be changed accordingly should still be new.”

Should Stills Book Changed Vices Polite Antidote

Book:Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith: With a New Life of the Author

Source: Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith: With a New Life of the Author

“In proportion as society refines, new books must ever become more necessary.”

Book Proportion New Books

Book:Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith: With a New Life of the Author

Source: Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith: With a New Life of the Author

“I love everything that's old, - old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine.”

“Titles and mottoes to books are like escutcheons and dignities in the hands of a king. The wise sometimes condescend to accept of them; but none but a fool would imagine them of any real importance. We ought to depend upon intrinsic merit, and not the slender helps of the title.”

Book Real Sometimes Helping Hands Accepting Wise Imagine Fool Depends Ought Kings Dignity Importance Titles Merit Slender

Book:Essays and The Bee

Source: Essays and The Bee

“The first time I read an excellent book, it is to me just as if I had gained a new friend. When I read a book over I have perused before, it resembles the meeting with an old one.”

Ifs Firsts Book Reading Friendship First Time Meetings Excellent New Friends

Book:The Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith, M.B.: Letters from a citizen of the world, to his friend in the East. A familiar introduction to the study of natural history

Source: The Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith, M.B.: Letters from a citizen of the world, to his friend in the East. A familiar introduction to the study of natural history

“A book may be very amusing with numerous errors, or it may be very dull without a single absurdity.”

May Book Errors Dull Absurdity Amusing

Book:The Vicar of Wakefield

Source: The Vicar of Wakefield

“As writers become more numerous, it is natural for readers to become more indolent; whence must necessarily arise a desire of attaining knowledge with the greatest possible ease.”

Book Desire Reading Natural Reader Arise Ease

Book:The miscellaneous works of Oliver Goldsmith

Source: The miscellaneous works of Oliver Goldsmith

“I have seen her and sister cry over a book for an hour together, and they said, they liked the book the better the more it made them cry.”

Made Book Cry Tears

Author:Oliver Goldsmith