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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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All Men May Ifs Pleasure Mind World Country Littles Stills Heart Life Virtue Want Firsts Should Science Thinking Book Care Children

Famous Oliver Goldsmith Quotes

“The more various our artificial necessities, the wider is our circle of pleasure; for all pleasure consists in obviating necessities as they rise; luxury, therefore, as it increases our wants, increases our capacity for happiness”

Want Pleasure Capacity Increase Various Circles Luxury Artificial

Book:His Works

Source: His Works

“And the weak soul, within itself unbless'd, Leans for all pleasure on another's breast.”

Soul Pleasure Weakness Weak Breasts

Book:Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, Tobias Smollett, Samuel Johnson and William Shenstone

Source: Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, Tobias Smollett, Samuel Johnson and William Shenstone

“Is it that Nature, attentive to the preservation of mankind, increases our wishes to live, while she lessens our enjoyments, and as she robs the senses of every pleasure, equips imag-ination in the spoil?”

Age Wish Pleasure Mankind Increase Senses Enjoyment Preservation Spoil

Book:The Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith, M.B.: With Memoirs of His Life and Writings : Enriched with an Elegant Portrait of the Author

Source: The Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith, M.B.: With Memoirs of His Life and Writings : Enriched with an Elegant Portrait of the Author

“The youth who follows his appetites too soon seizes the cup, before it has received its best ingredients, and by anticipating his pleasures, robs the remaining parts of life of their share, so that his eagerness only produces manhood of imbecility and an age of pain.”

Age Pain Pleasure Share Youth Produce Cups Ingredients Appetite Manhood Parts Of Life Eagerness Imbecility

Book:A History of the Earth, and Animated Nature

Source: A History of the Earth, and Animated Nature

“Man little knows what calamities are beyond his patience to bear till he tries them; as in ascending the heights of ambition, which look bright from below, every step we rise shows us some new and gloomy prospect of hidden disappointment; so in our descent from the summits of pleasure, though the vale of misery below may appear, at first, dark and gloomy, yet the busy mind, still attentive to its own amusement, finds, as we descend, something to flatter and to please. Still as we approach, the darkest objects appear to brighten, and the mortal eye becomes adapted to its gloomy situation.”

Source: The Works of Oliver Goldsmith: Poetical works. Dramas. The vicar of Wakefield

“For praise too dearly lov'd, or warmly sought, Enfeebles all internal strength of thought; And the weak soul within itself unblest, Leans for all pleasure on another's breast.”

Soul Pleasure Weak Praise Breasts Internals Flattery

Book:Essays, poems and plays

Source: Essays, poems and plays

“Friendship is made up of esteem and pleasure; pity is composed of sorrow and contempt: the mind may for some time fluctuate between them, but it can never entertain both at once.”

Mind May Made Friendship Pleasure Sorrow Pity Esteem Contempt

Book:The vicar of Wakefield, poems, and essays

Source: The vicar of Wakefield, poems, and essays

“Quality and title have such allurements that hundreds are ready to give up all their own importance, to cringe, to flatter, to look little, and to pall every pleasure in constraint, merely to be among the great, though without the least hopes of improving their understanding or sharing their generosity. They might be happier among their equals.”

Giving Looks Littles Might Understanding Pleasure Quality Ready Giving Up Importance Generosity Titles Improving Constraints Cringe Ready To Give Up

Book:The Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith: With an Account of His Life and Writings : Stereotyped from the Paris Edition : Complete in One Volume

Source: The Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith: With an Account of His Life and Writings : Stereotyped from the Paris Edition : Complete in One Volume

“Whichever way we look the prospect is disagreeable. Behind, we have left pleasures we shall never enjoy, and therefore regret; and before, we see pleasures which we languish to possess, and are consequently uneasy till we possess them.”

Way Looks Left Enjoy Pleasure Behinds Regret Anticipation Uneasy Disagreeable Languish

Book:The miscellaneous works of Oliver Goldsmith

Source: The miscellaneous works of Oliver Goldsmith

“There is unspeakable pleasure attending the life of a voluntary student.”

Pleasure Students Attending Unspeakable

Book:Works: With a Life and Notes

Source: Works: With a Life and Notes

“Every want that stimulates the breast becomes a source of pleasure when redressed.”

Want Pleasure Source Breasts

Book:The Vicar of Wakefield: Together with the Poems ...

Source: The Vicar of Wakefield: Together with the Poems ...

“The ambitious are forever followed by adulation for they receive the most pleasure from flattery.”

Pleasure Forever Ambition Ambitious Flattery Adulation

Author:Oliver Goldsmith

“Our pleasures are short, and can only charm at intervals; love is a method of protraction our greatest pleasure.”

Love Love Is Pleasure Method Charm Intervals Greatest Pleasures

Author:Oliver Goldsmith

“If frugality were established in the state, and if our expenses were laid out to meet needs rather than superfluities of life, there might be fewer wants, and even fewer pleasures, but infinitely more happiness.”

Ifs Want Life Needs States Might Happiness Pleasure Inner Peace Expenses Fewer Frugality

Author:Oliver Goldsmith

“All is not gold that glitters, Pleasure seems sweet, but proves a glass of bitters”

Seems Pleasure Sweet Prove Gold Glasses Glitter Stoops

Book:She Stoops to Conquer

Source: She Stoops to Conquer

“Who mix'd reason with pleasure, and wisdom with mirth: If he had any faults, he has left us in doubt.”

Ifs Reason Wisdom Left Pleasure Doubt Faults Mirth

Book:The Works of Oliver Goldsmith: Comprising His Poems, Comedies, Essays, and Vicar of Wakefield

Source: The Works of Oliver Goldsmith: Comprising His Poems, Comedies, Essays, and Vicar of Wakefield

“To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.”

Pleasure Our Lives Convenience Fortuitous

Book:The Vicar of Wakefield ... Nach Walter Scott's verbessertem Texte durchgängig accentuirt. Nebst ... Noten und einem vollständigen Wörterbuche ... Bearbeitet von Christian Heinrich Plessner ... Fünfte Auflage

Source: The Vicar of Wakefield ... Nach Walter Scott's verbessertem Texte durchgängig accentuirt. Nebst ... Noten und einem vollständigen Wörterbuche ... Bearbeitet von Christian Heinrich Plessner ... Fünfte Auflage

“True genius walks along a line, and, perhaps, our greatest pleasure is in seeing it so often near falling, without being ever actually down.”

Fall Lines Walks Pleasure Seeing Genius Artistic Greatest Pleasures True Genius

Book:The Works of Oliver Goldsmith: Comprising His Poems, Comedies, Essays, and Vicar of Wakefield

Source: The Works of Oliver Goldsmith: Comprising His Poems, Comedies, Essays, and Vicar of Wakefield