Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Oliver Goldsmith

Quote by Oliver Goldsmith

Work

The miscellaneous works of Oliver Goldsmith

This volume includes a selection of Oliver Goldsmith's literary works, showcasing his versatility as a writer across various genres. The collection features essays on moral and social issues, poems that reflect on nature and human emotions, and plays that explore themes of wit and satire. more

Author

Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith

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. more

You May Also Like

“It is impossible to combat enthusiasm with reason; for though it makes a show of resistance, it soon eludes the pressure, refers you to distinctions not to be understood, and feelings which it cannot explain. A man who would endeavor to fix an enthusiast by argument might as well attempt to spread quicksilver with his finger.”

MenWellsReasonShowsFeelingsMightImpossibleUnderstoodArgumentPressureFingersSpreadResistanceEnthusiasmDistinctionEndeavorCombatElude
Book:The Miscellaneous Works of Oliver Goldsmith, M. B.: Including a Variety of Pieces
Create image

“Sweet was the sound, when oft, at evening's close, Up yonder hill the village murmur rose; There as I passed, with careless steps and slow, The mingling notes came soften'd from below; The swain responsive as the milkmaid sung, The sober herd that low'd to meet their young; The noisy geese that gabbled o'er the pool, The playful children just let loose from school; The watch-dog's voice that bay'd the whispering wind, And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind; These all in sweet confusion sought the shade, And fill'd each pause the nightingale had made.”

MindChildrenMadeSchoolYoungSoundVoiceStepsWatchesLaughingDogSweetWindLowsRoseNotesConfusionEveningHillsLoudSpokesVillageShadePoolPausesSoberCarelessHerdsWhisperingGeeseNoisyVacantNightingalesMingling
Author:Oliver Goldsmith
Create image

“But me, not destined such delights to share, My prime of life in wandering spent and care; Impell'd, with steps unceasing, to pursue Some fleeting good, that mocks me with the view That, like the circle bounding earth and skies, Allures from far, yet, as I follow, flies; My fortune leads to traverse reams alone, And find no spot of all the world my own.”

WorldCareEarthMy OwnViewsStepsSkyShareFortuneDelightCirclesPursueSpotsWanderPrimeDestinedFleetingExileAllureEarth And SkyTraversePrime Of Life
Book:Goldsmith's miscellaneous works
Create image

“I learn several great truths; as that it is impossible to see into the ways of futurity, that punishment always attends the villain, that love is the fond soother of the human breast.”

WayHumansLove IsImpossibleExperiencePunishmentBreastsVillain
Book:The Works of Oliver Goldsmith: Enquiry into the present state of polite learning. The citizen of the world
Create image

“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.”

KnowsMenTryingMindFirstsLooksMayLittlesStillsShowsEyeDarkPleasureSituationStepsObjectsBearsPleaseAmbitionApproachExperienceMiseryBusyDisappointmentMortalsHeightAmusementSummitCalamityEvery StepAdaptedGloomyDescentAscending
Book:The Works of Oliver Goldsmith: Poetical works. Dramas. The vicar of Wakefield
Create image