"Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love, and to be loved, is the greatest happiness of existence."

Sydney Smith Philosophy See all quotes by Sydney Smith →

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“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

"The program already exists: it is the plan found in the Gospel and in the living Tradition, it is the same as ever. Ultimately, it has its center in Christ himself, who is to be known, loved and imita…"

— Pope John Paul II

Religion1920–2005

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"Doug's Law: "You can have information or you can have a life, but you can't have both."

— Douglas Coupland

Literature1961

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"I will continue to use my voice. I believed from the beginning that was an attempt to muzzle my voice, and I come from a people who have struggled and died in order to have a voice in this country. An…"

— Oprah Winfrey

Entertainment1954

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"When shall we see poets born? After a time of disasters and great misfortunes, when harrowed nations begin to breathe again. And then, shaken by the terror of such spectacles, imaginations will paint …"

— Denis Diderot

Philosophy1713–1784

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