Quotes by Oliver Goldsmith

About Oliver Goldsmith:

Oliver Goldsmith is best known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), his pastoral poem The Deserted Village (1770), and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man (1768) and She Stoops to Conquer (1771, first performed in 1773). He is thought to have written the classic children's tale The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (1765).
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Could a man live by it, it were not unpleasant employment to be a poet.

Oliver Goldsmith

Man wants but little here below, nor wants that little long.

Oliver Goldsmith

On the stage he was natural, simple, affecting, 'Twas only when he was off, he was acting.

Oliver Goldsmith

There are some faults so nearly allied to excellence that we can scarce weed out the vice without eradicating the virtue.

Oliver Goldsmith

The jests of the rich are ever successful.

Oliver Goldsmith

In all my wanderings through this world of care, In all my griefs -- and God has given my share -- I still had hopes, my latest hours to crown, Amidst these humble bowers to lay me down; To husband out life's taper at the close, And keep the flame fr...

Oliver Goldsmith

He who fights and runs away May live to fight another day; But he who is battle slain Can never rise to fight again

Oliver Goldsmith

They may talk of a comet, or a burning mountain, or some such bagatelle; but to me a modest woman, dressed out in all her finery, is the most tremendous object of the whole creation.

Oliver Goldsmith

Hope, like the gleaming taper’s light, adorns and cheers our way; and still, as darker grows the night, emits a brighter ray.

Oliver Goldsmith

I was ever of the opinion, that the honest man who married and brought up a large family, did more service than he who continued single, and only talked of population.

Oliver Goldsmith

Romance and novel paint beauty in colors more charming than nature, and describe a happiness that humans never taste. How deceptive and destructive are those pictures of consummate bliss!

Oliver Goldsmith

A man who leaves home to mend himself and others is a philosopher; but he who goes from country to country, guided by the blind impulse of curiosity, is a vagabond.

Oliver Goldsmith

Hope is such a bait, it covers any hook.

Oliver Goldsmith

Let schoolmasters puzzle their brain, With grammar, and nonsense, and learning, Good liquor, I stoutly maintain, Gives genius a better discerning.

Oliver Goldsmith

Friendship is a disinterested commerce between equals; love, an abject intercourse between tyrants and slaves.

Oliver Goldsmith

Pity and friendship are two passions incompatible with each other.

Oliver Goldsmith

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.

Oliver Goldsmith

You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.

Oliver Goldsmith

Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.

Oliver Goldsmith

The company of fools may first make us smile, but in the end we always feel melancholy.

Oliver Goldsmith

Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.

Oliver Goldsmith

Author Bio

  • NameOliver Goldsmith
  • DescriptionIrish physician and writer
  • BornNovember 10, 1728
  • DiedApril 4, 1774
  • CountryIreland
  • ProfessionPhysician; Writer; Poet