Writing is all a lottery -- I have been a loser by the works of the greatest men of the age. Tobias Smollett More Quotes by Tobias Smollett More Quotes From Tobias Smollett Some folks are wise and some are otherwise. Tobias Smollett sarcastic wisdom wise I think for my part one half of the nation is mad - and the other not very sound. Tobias Smollett mad sound thinking 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. Tobias Smollett ham zest giving The capital is become an overgrown monster; which, like a dropsical head, will in time leave the body and extremities without nourishment and support. Tobias Smollett support monsters time Who bravely dares must sometimes risk a fall. Tobias Smollett motivation courage fall Opposition is the very spur of love. Tobias Smollett spurs opposition The Highlanders regale themselves with whisky. They find it an excellent preservation against the winter cold. It is given with great success to the infants in the confluent smallpox. Tobias Smollett cooking winter food 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. Tobias Smollett eagles eye heart The bread I eat in London, is a deleterious paste, mixed up with chalk, alum, and bone ashes: insipid to the taste, and destructive to the constitution. Tobias Smollett ashes london taste On Leven's banks, while free to rove, And tune the rural pipe to love, I envied not the happiest swain That ever trod the Arcadian plain. Pure stream! in whose transparent wave My youthful limbs I wont to lave; No torrents stain thy limpid source, No rocks impede thy dimpling course, That sweetly warbles o'er its bed, With white, round, polish'd pebbles spread. Tobias Smollett rocks bed white Glory is the child of peril. Tobias Smollett peril glory children A mere index hunter, who held the eel of science by the tail. Index-hunter is a term used mockingly, meaning one who acquires superficial knowledge merely by consulting indexes. The '[holding] the eel of science by the tail' allusion was used in 1728 by Alexander Pope (q.v.). Tobias Smollett superficial-knowledge learning science Number three is always fortunate. Tobias Smollett fortunate three numbers I find that the old Roman baths of this quarter, were found covered by an old burying ground, belonging to the Abbey; through which, in all probability, the water drains in its passage; so that as we drink the decoction of the living bodies at the Pump-room, we swallow the strainings of rotten bones and carcasses at the private bath - I vow to God, the very idea turns my stomach! Tobias Smollett rotten water ideas And hearts resolved and hands prepared The blessings they enjoy to guard. Tobias Smollett blessing heart hands There is not room to swing a cat. Tobias Smollett swings cat rooms Of this diversion the Scots are so fond, that, when the weather will permit, you may see a multitude of all ranks, from the senator of justice to the lowest tradesman, mingled together, in their shirts, and following the balls with utmost eagerness. Tobias Smollett justice golf weather Every shot has its commission, d'ye see? We must all die at one time, as the saying is. Tobias Smollett one-time shots war A mere index hunter, who held the eel of science by the tail. Tobias Smollett eels hunters science Thy fatal shafts unerring move; Tobias Smollett bows life moving
