"I never read a book before reviewing it: it prejudices a man so."

Sydney Smith Philosophy See all quotes by Sydney Smith →

React to this quote

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

"In the region of Hindustan, this scrap of bread is a generous gift from Their Majesties, Timur and Akbar."

— Aurangzeb

Politics1618–1707

#books

"Sick of Hollywood, tired of fighting and selling out as an artist. I don't believe anyone should do the same thing for the rest of his life. We get a very short time on this planet. Challenging onesel…"

— Ralph Bakshi

Entertainment1938

#art

"In consequence of the great fear which fell upon Jaipál, who confessed he had seen death before the appointed time, he sent a deputation to the Amír soliciting peace, on the promise of his paying down…"

— Sabuktigin

Politics

#family

"I look at my little daughter every day and she wants certain things and when she wants them, she wants them. And she almost cries out, "I want what I want when I want it." She is not concerned about w…"

— Martin Luther King

Social Activism1929–1968

#family