Sydney Smith

Have the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order to avoid the calamity of being ignorant of everything.

Whatever you are from nature, keep to it; never desert your own line of talent. Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed; be anything else, and you will be ten thousands times worse than nothing.

Whatever you are by nature, keep to it; never desert your line of talent. Be what nature intended you for and you will succeed.
Sydney Smith - referring to Macaulay
He had occasional flashes of silence, that made his conversation perfectly delightful.

Never try to reason the prejudice out of a man. It was not reasoned into him, and cannot be reasoned out.

Have the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order to avoid the calamity of being ignorant of everything.

You must not think me necessarily foolish because I am facetious, nor will I consider you necessarily wise because you are grave.

I have no relish for the country; it is a kind of healthy grave.

Errors to be dangerous must have a great deal of truth mingled with them. It is only from this alliance that they can ever obtain an extensive circulation.

It is always right that a man should be able to render a reason for the faith that is within him.
Sydney Smith - referring to Macaulay
He had occasional flashes of silence, that made his conversation perfectly delightful.

There is one piece of advice, in a life of study, which I think no one will object to; and that is, every now and then to be completely idle - to do nothing at all.

To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can.

Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love and to be loved is the greatest happiness of existence.

What would the world do without tea? - how did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea.

Live always in the best company when you read.

- Sydney Smith