Tobias Smollett

thumb|Tobias Smollett circa 1770 Tobias George Smollett (c. March 16, 1721 – September 17, 1771) was a Scottish novelist, translator, historian and editor. Quotes Facts are stubborn things. Translation of Gil Blas (1749), Book X, Chap. 1. Also used by Bernard Mandeville in An Enquiry Into the Origin of Honour (1732), p. 162, and by Jared Elliot in Essay on Field Husbandry (1747), p. 35. Thy spirit, Independence, let me share,Lord of the lion-heart and eagle-eye.Thy steps I follow with my bosom bare,Nor heed the storm that howls along the sky. Ode to Independence, strophe 1. Those sculptur'd halls my feet shall never tread,Where varnish'd vice and vanity combin'd,To dazzle and seduce, their banners spread,And forge vile shackles for the free-born mind. Ode to Independence, antistrophe 3. Writing is all a lottery -- I have been a loser by the works of the greatest men of the age. The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771). Thy fatal shafts unerring move,I bow before thine altar, Love! The Adventures of Roderick Random (1848), Chapter xl, reported in Bartlett's Quotations, 10th ed. (1919). The Regicide (1749) Keen are the pangsOf hapless love, and passion unapprov'd:But where consenting wishes meet, and vowsReciprocally breath'd, confirm the tie,Joy rolls on joy, an inexhausted stream!And virtue crowns the sacred scene. Act I, scene iii. To-day, in snow array'd, stern winter rulesThe ravag'd plain—Anon the teeming earthUnlocks her stores, and spring adorns the year:And shall not we—while fate, like winter, frowns,Expect revolving bliss? Act I, scene vi. To exultEv'n o'er an enemy oppress'd, and heapAffliction on the afflicted, is the markAnd the mean triumph of a dastard soul. Act II, scene vii. True courage scornsTo vent her prowess in a storm of words;And, to the valiant, actions speak alone. Act II, scene vii. To send the injur'd unredress'd away,How great soe'er th' offender, or the wrong'dHowe'er obscure, is wicked—weak and vile:Degrades, denies, and should dethrone a king! Act IV, scene ix. Misattributed As Love can exquisitely bless,Love only feels the marvellous of pain;Opens new veins of torture in the soul,And wakes the nerve where agonies are born. Edward Young, The Brothers (1753), Act V, scene i. External links Category:Novelists from Scotland Category:Political authors from Scotland Category:Translators from Scotland Category:Editors from Scotland Category:Poets from Scotland Category:Travel writers Category:18th-century British poets Category:Physicians from Scotland Category:Historians from Scotland Category:1721 births Category:1771 deaths Category:University of Glasgow alumni Category:University of Edinburgh alumni