"Take short views, hope for the best, and trust in God."

Sydney Smith Philosophy See all quotes by Sydney Smith →

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More by Sydney Smith

“My idea of heaven is, eating pâté de foie gras to the sound of trumpets.”

“When I hear any man talk of an unalterable law, the only effect it produces upon me is to convince me that he is an unalterable fool.”

“I am old, but I certainly have not that sign of old age, extolling the past at the expense of the present.”

“My living in Yorkshire was so far out of the way, that it was actually twelve miles from a lemon.”

“I look upon Switzerland as an inferior sort of Scotland.”

“Bishop Berkeley destroyed this world in one volume octavo; and nothing remained after his time, but mind — which experienced a similar fate from the hand of Mr. Hume, in 1737.”

Resonant Thoughts

"I suppose -- in the last resort -- you trust life -- or you don't. Well -- I don't. There's something malicious . . . corrupt . . . cruel . . . at the heart of it. We don't belong. We're a mistake."

— J. B. Priestley

Literature1894–1984

#life

"For help of this, full meekly our Lord shewed the patience that He had in His Hard Passion; and also the joying and the satisfying that He hath of that Passion, for love. And this He shewed in example…"

— Julian of Norwich

Literature

#wisdom

"He, however, soon realized that without State aid it was not possible to spread Christian religion in India. Writing to Father Rodrigues he said: “According to my experience the only effective way to …"

— Francis Xavier

Religion1909–1965

#religion

"I think animals need all the help they can get, because they have none. They have no rights. They have no protection. And so I think animals need help. And I think animals look to humans for protectio…"

— Morrissey

Music1959

#justice