Wit & Wisdom of the Reverend Sydney Smith: Being Selections from His Writings and Passages of His Letters and Table-Talk

by Sydney Smith

Excerpt from The Wit and Wisdom of Sydney A Selection of the Most Memorable Passages in His Writings and ConversationsThe intention of the Editor of this volume has been to unite in a compendious form the most brilliant and instructive sentences in the writings of Sydney Smith. These extracts are purposely separated as much as possible from the context and connection in which they originally stood; and each passage is limited to the smallest compass which could convey with accuracy the detached thoughts of the writer. In this volume the gems are displayed without their setting - the pearls are unstrung.

458 pages, Hardcover

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Sydney Smith was an English Anglican clergyman, essayist, and public intellectual celebrated for his brilliant wit, humane outlook, and lively prose. Born in Essex to a mercurial merchant father and a mother of Huguenot descent, he was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, where he distinguished himself for both scholarship and personality. Ordained in 1796, he combined energetic parish work with wide intellectual interests, soon gaining attention as a preacher of unusual humor and clarity. After moving to Edinburgh in 1798 as a tutor, he helped found the influential Edinburgh Review in 1802 and remained one of its most admired contributors for decades, shaping liberal opinion with essays that blended moral seriousness and comic flair. Settling later in London, he lectured at the Royal Institution, advocated progressive causes such as Catholic emancipation, parliamentary reform, the abolition of slavery, and the education of women, and became a central figure in Whig society. Though his outspoken views limited ecclesiastical advancement, he served faithfully in rural parishes, winning deep affection from parishioners while continuing to write and speak on public issues. Smith’s reputation as one of the great conversationalists of his age endured through his sermons, essays, pamphlets, and countless anecdotes attributed to him. Remembered as much for his humane common sense as for his humor, he left a lasting mark on nineteenth-century British intellectual life and remains one of the most quoted clerical writers in English literature.

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excerpted from his memoirs, letters, writings in the Edinburgh Review, and elsewhere, these are guaranteed to be the most entertaining and instructive offerings the Reverend had. I personally found the wisdom more useful and timeless than much of the wit. Apparently, his impression of Sir James Mackintosh was spot on, which is hilarious I'm sure, if you know who that is--I gather he spoke in Parliament. Also, the people of Napoleonic France were foolish--if well mannered--buffoons, the Irish were uppity rascals, and the Church of England paid Bishops way too much money. The disparity in decade notwithstanding, there is a lot of wisdom still to be gained from Rev. Smith.

"There is no such thing as a just war, or at least, a wise one."

"No man, I fear, can effect great benefits for his country without some sacrifice of the minor virtues."

And, particularly instructive for the readers here:

"Simplicity is a great object in a great book; it is not wanted in a short one."