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Quote by Laurence Sterne

Work

3 Books by Laurence Sterne

This compilation includes Sterne's most celebrated novels, showcasing his distinctive narrative voice and wit. The works are characterized by their philosophical depth and innovative use of the novel form. more

Author

Laurence Sterne
Laurence Sterne

Laurence Sterne, born on November 24, 1713, and died on March 18, 1768, was a prominent English novelist of the 18th century. He is best known for his novel 'Tristram Shandy', which is considered a pioneer of modern fiction and is renowned for its unique narrative style and profound insights into human nature. more

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“The circumstances with which every thing in this world is begirt, give every thing in this world its size and shape;--and by tightening it, or relaxing it, this way or that, make the thing to be, what it is--great--little--good--bad--indifferent or not indifferent, just as the case happens.”

WorldWayLifeGivingLittlesHappensChangeCasesThis WorldCircumstancesShapesSizeLife ChangingIndifferent
Book:The Works of Laurence Sterne: Containing the Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gent., Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, Sermons, Letters, &c. With a Life of the Author Written by Himself
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“When the precipitancy of a man's wishes hurries on his ideas ninety times faster than the vehicle he rides in--woe be to truth!”

MenIdeasWishPatienceFasterVehicleWoeNinetyHaste
Book:The Works of Laurence Sterne: Containing The Life and Opinions of Tristan Shandy ... [etc.] ; with a Life of the Author Written by Himself
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“But mark, madam, we live amongst riddles and mysteries--the most obvious things, which come in our way, have dark sides, which thequickest sight cannot penetrate into; and even the clearest and most exalted understandings amongst us find ourselves puzzled and at a loss in almost every cranny of nature's works.”

WayUnderstandingSidesDarkLossKnowledgeMysterySightMarkObviousSkepticismPenetrateDark SideExaltedRiddlePuzzledObvious Things
Book:Works, Containing the Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gent: A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, Sermons, Letters and C
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“Every thing in this world, said my father, is big with jest,--and has wit in it, and instruction too,--if we can but find it out.”

IfsWorldSaidBigsFatherEducationKnowledgeThis WorldWitInstructionJest
Book:The Works of Laurence Sterne: Containing The Life and Opinions of Tristan Shandy ... [etc.] ; with a Life of the Author Written by Himself
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“So that the life of a writer, whatever he might fancy to the contrary, was not so much a state of composition, as a state of warfare; and his probation in it, precisely that of any other man militant upon earth,--both depending alike, not half so much upon the degrees of his WIT--as his RESISTANCE.”

MenStatesMightEarthHalfDegreesContraryWitResistanceFancyWarfareCompositionMilitantProbation
Book:The Works of Laurence Sterne: Containing the Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gent., Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, Sermons, Letters, &c. With a Life of the Author Written by Himself
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“Upon looking back from the end of the last chapter and surveying the texture of what has been wrote, it is necessary, that upon this page and the five following, a good quantity of heterogeneous matter be inserted, to keep up that just balance betwixt wisdom and folly, without which a book would not hold together a single year.”

YearsHas BeensBookEndsMatterFunnyTogetherLastsFiveBalancePagesSurpriseFollowingFollyQuantityChaptersLooking BackTexture
Book:The Works of Laurence Sterne, in One Volume
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“I know not whether the remark is to our honour or otherwise, that lessons of wisdom have never such power over us, as when they are wrought into the heart, through the ground-work of a story which engages the passions: Is it that we are like iron, and must first be heated before we can be wrought upon?”

KnowsFirstsHeartStoriesPassionFictionLessonsIronHonourMaximsRemarks
Book:The Works of Laurence Sterne ...: With a Life of the Author
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