Oliver Goldsmith was an Anglo-Irish novelist, poet, and playwright. He is best known for his famous works like his novel The Vicar of Wakefield, poem The Deserted Village, and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer.
According to his biography, his birth date and place are not certain, he was born on 10 November 1728 in the town of Pallas near Ballymahon, Country Longford, Ireland. Around his birth, his family moved to a substantial house near Lissoy, where Oliver spent most of his childhood. He had an unhappy youth with all his misadventures and became an undergraduate at Trinity College, Dublin. But later on, he did complete his B.A. degree in February 1749.
Even though he completed his graduation as he had no discipline and distinction, it gained him an entry to a profession in church. His education mainly gave him a taste for clothes, music, cards, and even playing the flutes. Along with his mother, he did try various professions but without any success. Later on, he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh from 1752 to 1755 and then set out on a walking tour to various cities like France, Switzerland, and even Italy by busking his flute.
He started working as an apothecary's assistant, physician, and even as a hack writer, where he reviewed, translated, and even compiled works. His growth from a vagabond to a known personality in London is quite a mystery. The rise was mainly possible because he had one quality that made him popular among booksellers and readers were his lively and readable style. He became popular with the Enquiry into the Present State of Polite Learning in Europe even though it was a minor work.
By 1762 he established himself as an essayist with his Citizen of the World. Later on by 1764, he did win a reputation as a poet with The Traveller, the first-ever work to put his name. He did return to theatre by 1768 with plays which was an immediate success. In his last decade, all his conversations with Johnson and others were maintained in Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson. Due to the misdiagnosis of his kidney infection, he did die in the spring of 1774. He was buried in a temple church in London.
Follow are some of the Oliver Goldsmith Quotess that will surely be an inspiration to you.
Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.
Life is a trip where you need to be prepared for your best. It is a rollercoaster of emotions where you can expect the unexpected. A hike that is full of surprises- that is what life is all about.
Oliver says that life is like an expedition in which you have to travel on your own. No matter how the roads are, you have to complete this trip. There will be lots of blocks and hurdles at a time, and at all those times, you need just to keep on moving. The only constant thing should be the attitude of never giving up.
So, no matter how long or how bad the roads are, you still have to travel. You cannot swap your seat with someone else even if your accommodation is not perfect. Therefore, all you have to do is to enjoy the journey called life as there will be no other trek as life.
Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
To fall and rise is the most common thing in the universe. Every time we fall, the courage to stand up once again is what we need to have.
This quote says that the most important honor is not to fail in our life but to rise every time we fall. It means that every time we face a difficulty in life, we just need to have the guts to stand up on our feet, even if it means starting everything once again. We just need to have faith and trust in ourselves.
Like the sun, which rises and sets each day, we too can start from the beginning. Each time we fail, think of it as a chance you have got to do things better than the previous. So, even if we fall, get up and start afresh.
What we place most hopes upon, generally proves most fatal.
Hope is a feeling of expectation for a particular thing to happen. It can be termed as a desire to want something or a need to change things for the better.
Hope is something that makes a person believe in something which may or may not take place. The situation or the person on which we place the most hope always proves us wrong. This is the most common thing that happens in everyone's life.
When the hope proves to be fatal, it starts to become complicated. We start to question ourselves, and everything starts to go downhill. In short, we start to doubt ourselves. So, never keep an expectation as it always kills you when you least expect it.
Continue reading some quotes by Oliver Goldsmith....
There are a hundred faults in this Thing and a hundred things might be said to prove them beauties.
Fault can be a flaw or a defect in a person's character. It can be a responsibility for a mistake or a wrongful act. In simple terms, a fault is generally a mistake or failure of a person.
This quote says that there will always be faults in a particular thing. Nothing on this earth is perfect. But all those faults can be covered by saying many other things to prove their worth. It means that every person has a different way of thinking. And all of them have their way of finding and prove its value.
Even if there are a hundred faults in a thing, there will be hundred other things that will prove that it is beautiful. So, no matter even if people find innumerable faults in you, you just need to believe in yourself as everyone in this universe is beautiful.
I love everything that's old, - old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine.
This quote tells us the importance of all the old things. It says that no matter how old things are, it is always the best.
Oliver says that he loves everything old. He misses all his old friends with whom he had great moments. He loved all those old times when he had all those fun in his life. He has a special liking to all his old manners, which he has never forgotten until now.
The old books still have the same charm when he reads them, so he still adores them. And the best thing about wine is the older it gets, the better it gets. As they say, wine gets better with age.
Therefore, Oliver wants us to understand that the things that become old never loses its charm as it only becomes better with time.
Every absurdity has a champion to defend it.
An absurdity is a thing that is extremely unhelpful or difficult, to be not taken seriously or something which is said out of foolishness. It is generally the state of being unreasonable or something hilarious.
This quote says that every stupidity has a person to defend it. It says that behind every foolishness, there will surely be a winner to defend it. As each of us believes in certain idiocy as we go through different situations in our life, we make some stupid decisions.
It often happens as smart people have hundreds of reasons to defend the absurdity they believe in. In all these processes, people do forget to understand the real truth behind the stories we weave to prove stupidity.
So, no matter how many of them defend the idiocy, you do not need to believe it until you have to.
The first time I read an excellent book, it is to me just as if I had gained a new friend. When I read a book over I have perused before, it resembles the meeting with an old one.
Books are something which can never make us feel lonely in our life. They are the perfect companion for us that will understand us when needed and something which will never judge us.
Oliver says that he feels like he has got a new friend the first time he reads a good book. It gives us a feeling of being with someone when in despair and is something that inspires us to overcome our failures. As good books enrich our minds with positive thoughts just like friends do.
Every time he rereads a book once again, he feels like meeting an old friend. It means that no matter how much time you read a book, it still will be your friend. Every good book feels like a soul mate, and each time he goes over through it, he feels like he did find his long-lost shadow.
Hope is such a bait, it covers any hook.
Hope is a feeling of assumption and the need for a particular thing to happen. It can also mean the desire for certain things to change for the better.
This quote says that hope is like a trap that can cover almost any clasp. It means that desire is almost like a lure- the one that will help us to hold on to our dreams more tightly. If we want something, we start thinking of it, it is almost the first step for something better to happen.
But it doesn't mean that by hoping for things, you can achieve it. Like a hook that cannot catch every fish, our wishes may also not be fulfilled until we work on it. And if working also does not helps, then try other methods as hope can cover any hook.
Few more Oliver Goldsmith Quotes....
Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.
To fall and rise is the most common thing. Everything in the universe has to get up to stand against all the odds. To fight back against all the adversities, you have to get up once again.
Rohn says that success is not something which you achieve without falling even once. Victory consists of standing up once again, even after you fall again and again. It means that getting up just one more time than you fall. No matter how worse the situation gets, you have to take that one step towards the light.
Even when darkness strikes you, you have to walk towards the path of light. There will be obstacles and hurdles to block your path, but you just need to keep walking. When you slip and fall during your journey, all you have to do is get up with a smile on your face and walk towards the end.
The company of fools may first make us smile, but in the end, we always feel melancholy.
A fool is a silly or a stupid person who lacks sense or judgment. As they say, we are what the company we keep. Company is what determines the person we are.
This quote says that the company of fools at first makes feel us happy. We may smile at a silly joke and may feel content at the start. But as we are known by the company we have. And we do get influenced, and suddenly our behavior changes even without knowing.
In the beginning, we may feel jovial, but we start to feel depressed and sad in the end. We may have already deviated from the original path and may have even forgotten the road. And then the feeling of desolation overcomes us, which may break you at times.
Therefore, know the company you keep as it may lead to misery.
Surely the best way to meet the enemy is to head-on in the field and not wait till they plunder our very homes.
An enemy is a person who actively confronts someone or something. It is a thing that harms or causes damage to the other.
Rohn says that the best way to confront an enemy is on the field. Rather than waiting for the enemy to attack, you start attacking from the front. Do not hold back until it plunders your own home. Begin confronting when you have the opportunity as waiting for the perfect time deteriorates things.
There is no best time or place to challenge your enemy. Meet your foe before the situation gets complicated. Never wait until they start to reach into our very own house.
So, start meeting your rival before it gets too late.
A great source of calamity lies in regret and anticipation; therefore a person is wise who thinks of the present alone, regardless of the past or future.
A calamity is a disastrous event that is marked by the loss and distress caused by a major accident. It is a blow that can destroy the peace of the entire universe. It is an event that causes a great deal of damage, destruction, or even a personal loss.
This quote says that a disaster occurs when we regret or predict something. People often predict things to happen so that our situation gets better. And when the situation doesn't get better, we regret the choices we made. The person who thinks about the present is a wise man.
A clever person is the one who doesn't think of the future or past. As the present is what we have, and it is what can change your future. Future and past are something that we cannot improve or modify. Therefore, take control of your present, and it erases your past and amends your future.
The best way to make your audience laugh is to start laughing yourself.
To laugh is the noise that makes brings delight to our ears. It is to smile while making a sound to show that something is funny or to show that you are happy.
Rohn says that the most important task is to try to loosen up your audience without looking like a complete psycho. You want your audience to open up but still take you seriously as an authoritative figure. You need to get your audience to enjoy themselves so at first, start to laugh at yourself.
It would help if you cracked jokes on yourself to make your audience crack with joy. Make your audience open up so that they enjoy every single time you pull someone's leg. Make it a show worth remembering and an arrangement that will remain etched in their hearts forever.
In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take.
Life is one of the most unpredictable things in the universe. At one moment, you may be overwhelming with joy, and at others, you will have a bucket full of sadness to drown you deeply.
In this life, we get many chances, but we always end up regretting the ones we didn't choose. This is quite the human tendency as when we fail in our lives, we often start to doubt ourselves. We end up thinking about the options we could have selected and the changes that would have to happen.
We just need to remember that no matter the chances we get, there will still be problems in the end. And if issues do arise, we just need to understand them, and within minutes there will surely be a way to overcome them. If no way turns out, start exploring the options and, in the process, discover something beautiful.
Therefore, do not worry about the chances you cannot put use to.
People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy.
Models are generally the people whom we look up to. They are an inspiration for us to do better. They can be a person of any age or any field.
Oliver says that everyone should have a role model in their lives. They become a motivation and someone who encourages you to do better. They grow as a person and become a better individual.
He tells us the importance of having a role model in a person's life. When you do not have a person to look up to, you do not improve much. They only look towards themselves as a model and start improving. But that development is not a big one when compared to having a role model.
So, influence your life as it is that helps you to be a better person.
Some more Oliver Goldsmith Quotes....
Mortifications are often more painful than real calamities.
Mortifications are often the embarrassment or the shame we face in our life. It is the humiliation and shame that is caused by something that hurts one's pride.
This quote says that when you demean someone, the person's pain is much more than calamity. A calamity is an event that is caused by loss and distress of nature. It sure causes huge damage and destruction to all the creatures on the earth.
Even after the calamity, people can still start their life afresh and continuing walking new paths. But the pain and agony humiliation brings is much more than anything. After the embarrassment, people get hurt and often go into depression. Some even lose their lives in their process.
Therefore, the saying that humiliation when caused brings more damage than a disaster.
Pity and friendship are two passions incompatible with each other.
Pity is a feeling of sadness or empathy for the suffering or unhappiness caused to others. It is generally something that causes regret or sorrow for others. It is a feeling of sympathy that you feel for others.
Friendship is the relation that exists between friends. It is the quality of being friendly with people. True friendship is when someone knows you better than yourself and knows your emotion even without you knowing.
Oliver says that both friendship and pity are two passions that do not go with each other. These two words cannot stand each other. They are something that cannot live in harmony. As for where friendship exists, pity does not hold a chance and vice versa. Friends are those who do not show any empathy but instead stand with us when in need.
Therefore, if you have a friend who expresses pity towards you, maybe it is time for you to change your friend.
The true use of speech is not so much to express our wants as to conceal them.
This quote is one of the powerful quotes among all the others ones mentioned here. It says how we often restrict ourselves from speaking the truth. This quote mentions the reality of the world we are living in.
This quote says that even though we humans can speak whenever we want, it almost seems a difficult task in today's time. The use of speech is to hide the truth rather than saying out loud. It has become a strenuous task to express our thoughts as they are often tucked away.
It is quite a difficult time as it has become a need to conceal our thoughts. People often have a fear to express what they feel. This is mainly by thinking of the consequences they have to keep their mouth shut.
So, I believe that it is time we express what we feel, or else our voice will get lost in the process.
Don't let us make imaginary evils when you know we have so many real ones to encounter.
We humans have a habit of thinking too deeply. Even before we start doing a thing, our mind is already clouded with all the negative emotions. We feel nervous and have a fear of losing out on things.
Oliver says that we people always imagine a lot of things in our minds. And all those things are mainly negative ones. This imagination often makes us less confident, and a feeling of terror does occur. If we start to conceptualize all the negative thoughts, it turns into something greater than the real ones.
It is better to stop imagining those evil thoughts as there is no lack of the real ones in our society. In our daily lives, we already have to deal with the real ones, so it is better not to create imaginary ones.
Therefore, it is time we stop overthinking.
Write how you want, the critic shall show the world you could have written better.
This quote is mainly every writer's situation. This quote has the emotions of the authors in it. It says how difficult it is to be a writer.
Oliver says that a writer should always express his thoughts through his writings. He should always write the way he wants. There will always be people to criticize our writings as it is the work of the critic to find faults in our writing.
He advises the writers not to fear criticism. Take those judgments in a positive stride and write in a better way. Be the one who writes from within, a writer who pens down the way he wants to.
To all aspiring writers, write the way you want, as even a good book does need some criticism.
Life is too short to crib about the things you do not have. So start living each moment as if it is the last. Treasure what you have today as tomorrow will never be the same. Forget about all the misfortune you have and start living. Your time on this earth is limited so live like there is no tomorrow. And now smile as I know you surely need it.
