In composing, as a general rule, run your pen through every other word you have written; you have no idea what vigor it will give your style. – Sydney Smith
Manners are like the shadows of virtues, they are the momentary display of those qualities which our fellow creatures love and respect. – Sydney Smith
The observances of the church concerning feasts and fasts are tolerably well-kept, since the rich keep the feasts and the poor keep the fasts. – Sydney Smith
A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort. – Sydney Smith