Tobias Smollett Quotes
1721–1771 Scotland
Tobias George Smollett (c. March 16, 1721 – September 17, 1771) was a Scottish novelist, translator, historian and editor.
- Scotland
- Editors
- Historians
- Novelists
- Physicians
Also known as: Smollett, Tobias, Tobias George Smollett
Random Tobias Smollett quote
18 quotes
True courage scorns
To vent her prowess in a storm of words;
And, to the valiant, actions speak alone.
The Regicide (1749)
Thy fatal shafts unerring move;
I bow before thine altar, Love!
Writing is all a lottery -- I have been a loser by the works of the greatest men of the age.
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771)
A mere index hunter, who held the eel of science by the tail.
Every shot has its commission, d'ye see? We must all die at one time, as the saying is.
And hearts resolved and hands prepared
The blessings they enjoy to guard.
To exult
Ev'n o'er an enemy oppress'd, and heap
Affliction on the afflicted, is the mark
And the mean triumph of a dastard soul.
The Regicide (1749)
The great Cham of literature. [Samuel Johnson.]
To send the injur'd unredress'd away,
How great soe'er th' offender, or the wrong'd
Howe'er obscure, is wicked—weak and vile:
Degrades, denies, and should dethrone a king!
The Regicide (1749)
One wit, like a knuckle of ham in soup, gives a zest and flavour to the dish, but more than one serves only to spoil the pottage.
Number three is always fortunate.
Thy spirit, Independence, let me share,
Lord of the lion-heart and eagle-eye.
Thy steps I follow with my bosom bare,
Nor heed the storm that howls along the sky.
Keen are the pangs
Of hapless love, and passion unapprov'd:
But where consenting wishes meet, and vows
Reciprocally breath'd, confirm the tie,
Joy rolls on joy, an inexhausted stream!
And virtue crowns the sacred scene.
The Regicide (1749)
Deep in the frozen regions of the north,
A goddess violated brought thee forth,
Immortal Liberty!
Those sculptur'd halls my feet shall never tread,
Where varnish'd vice and vanity combin'd,
To dazzle and seduce, their banners spread,
And forge vile shackles for the free-born mind.
To-day, in snow array'd, stern winter rules
The ravag'd plain—Anon the teeming earth
Unlocks her stores, and spring adorns the year:
And shall not we—while fate, like winter, frowns,
Expect revolving bliss?
The Regicide (1749)
The Adventures of Roderick Random (1848), Chapter xl, reported in Bartlett's Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
As Love can exquisitely bless,
Love only feels the marvellous of pain;
Opens new veins of torture in the soul,
And wakes the nerve where agonies are born.
Misattributed