Laurence Sterne Quotes - Page 8

Quotes about:

• In solitude the mind gains strength, and learns to lean upon herself; in the world it seeks or accepts of a few treacherous supports--the feigned compassion of one, the flattery of a second, the civilities of a third, the friendship of a fourth--they all deceive, and bring the mind back to retirement, reflection, and books.

  Laurence Sterne

  Retirement, Book, Reflection

  Laurence Sterne (1811). “The Beauties of Sterne: With Some Account of His Life”, p.139

  19 Copy quote

• The director is responsible for interpreting the playwright's work through the cast with the help of the staff. It is the director's artistic concept of the play that the cast, staff, and crew work to obtain.

  Laurence Sterne

  Play, Theatre, Directors

  4 Copy quote

• There are many ways of inducing sleep--the thinking of purling rills, or waving woods; reckoning of numbers; droppings from a wet sponge fixed over a brass pan, etc. But temperance and exercise answer much better than any of these succedaneums.

  Laurence Sterne

  Sleep, Exercise, Thinking

  11 Copy quote

• How frequently is the honesty and integrity of a man disposed of by a smile or shrug! How many good and generous actions have been sunk into oblivion by a distrustful look, or stamped With the imputation of proceeding from bad motives, by a mysterious and seasonable whisper!

  Laurence Sterne

  Honesty, Integrity, Men

  Laurence Sterne (1857). “The Works of Laurence Sterne: Containing The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, Sermons, Letters, Etc”, p.548

  7 Copy quote

• To write a book is for all the world like humming a song.

  Laurence Sterne

  Song, Book, Writing

  Laurence Sterne (1849). “The Works of Laurence Sterne: Containing The Life and Opinions of Tristan Shandy ... [etc.] ; with a Life of the Author Written by Himself”, p.137

  4 Copy quote

• There are some tempers--how shall I describe them--formed either of such impenetrable matter, or wrought up by habitual selfishness to such an utter insensibility of what becomes of the fortunes of their fellow-creatures, as if they were not partakers of the same nature, or had no lot or connection at all with the species.

  Laurence Sterne

  Selfishness, Connections, Matter

  Laurence Sterne (1873). “The Works of Laurence Sterne ...: With a Life of the Author”, p.26, London : Bickers, H. Sotheran

  7 Copy quote

• Is it not an amazing thing, that men shall attempt to investigate the mystery of the redemption, when, at the same time that it is propounded to us as an article of faith solely, we are told that "the very angels have desired to pry into it in vain"?

  Laurence Sterne

  Angel, Men, Redemption

  Laurence Sterne (1805). “The Works of Laurence Sterne, A. M.: A sentimental journey through France and Italy. The Koran: or, The life, character and sentiments of Tria Juncta in Uno. A political romance”, p.379

  4 Copy quote

• Probably Providence has implanted peevishness and ill-temper in sick and old persons, in compassion to the friends or relations who are to survive; as it must naturally lessen the concern they might otherwise feel for their loss.

  Laurence Sterne

  Loss, Compassion, Sick

  Laurence Sterne (1803). “The works of Laurence Sterne, with a life of the author, written by himself”

  7 Copy quote

• I was acquainted once with a gallant soldier who assured me that his only measure of courage was this: upon the first fire, in an engagement, he immediately looked upon himself as a dead man. He then bravely fought out the remainder of the day, perfectly regardless of all manner of danger, as becomes a dead man to be. So that all the life or limbs he carried back again to his tent he reckoned as clear gains, or, as he himself expressed it, so much out of the fire.

  Laurence Sterne

  Men, Fire, Soldier

  7 Copy quote

• Sweet pliability of man's spirit, that can at once surrender itself to illusions, which cheat expectation and sorrow of their weary moments! - long - long since had ye numbered out my days, had I not trod so great a part of them upon this enchanted ground. When my way is too rough for my feet, or too steep for my strength, I get off it, to some smooth velvet path which fancy has scattered over with rose-buds of delights; and have taken a few turns on it, come back strengthened and refreshed.

  Laurence Sterne

  Sweet, Taken, Men

  Laurence Sterne (1805). “The Works of Laurence Sterne ...”, p.94

  8 Copy quote

• ...beauty, like truth, never is so glorious as when it goes the plainest.

  Laurence Sterne

  Beauty, Glorious

  Laurence Sterne (1811). “The Beauties of Sterne: With Some Account of His Life”, p.166

  7 Copy quote

• Hail! the small courtesies of life, for smooth do ye make the road of it, like grace and beauty, which beget inclinations to love at first sight; it is ye who open the door and let the stranger in.

  Laurence Sterne

  Sight, Doors, Grace

  Laurence Sterne (1873). “The Works of Laurence Sterne with a Life of the Author Written by Himself”, p.330

  6 Copy quote

• An interesting difference between new and experienced stage managers is that the new stage manager thinks of running the show as the most difficult and most demanding part of the job, whereas the experienced stage manager thinks of it as the most relaxing part. Perhaps the reason is that experienced stage managers have built up work habits that make then so thoroughly prepared for the production phase that they [can] sit back during performances to watch that preparation pay off.

  Laurence Sterne

  Running, Jobs, Thinking

  4 Copy quote

• The improbability of a malicious story serves but to help forward the currency of it, because it increases the scandal. So that, in such instances, the world is like the pious St. Austin, who said he believed some things because they were absurd and impossible.

  Laurence Sterne

  Scandal, Austin, Stories

  Laurence Sterne (1803). “The works of Laurence Sterne, with a life of the author, written by himself”

  7 Copy quote

• Tis no extravagant arithmetic to say, that for every ten jokes, thou hast got an hundred enemies; and till thou hast gone on, and raised a swarm of wasps about thine ears, and art half stung to death by them, thou wilt never be convinced it is so.

  Laurence Sterne

  Art, Humor, Enemy

  Laurence Sterne (1847). “Works, Containing the Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gent: A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, Sermons, Letters and C”, p.29

  10 Copy quote

• There are worse occupations in this world than feeling a woman's pulse.

  Laurence Sterne

  Funny, Humor, Doctors

  'A Sentimental Journey' (1768) 'The Pulse. Paris'

  7 Copy quote

• A man cannot dress, but his ideas get cloath'd at the same time.

  Laurence Sterne

  Men, Ideas, Dresses

  1759-67 Tristram Shandy, bk.9, ch.13.

  4 Copy quote

• The cast, staff, and crew of a live theater work together toward a common goal: a good performance. Thus, theater is necessarily a group effort. However, it is never a group effort of vague fellow committee members, but of associated autocrats-a playwright, a producer, a director, a stage manager, designers, and, above all, actors. Each accommodates the others, and may overlap others in function when necessary. But each autocrat assumes distinct responsibilities and accepts them completely.

  Laurence Sterne

  Responsibility, Goal, Effort

  4 Copy quote

• Pain and pleasure, like light and darkness, succeed each other; and he that knows how to accommodate himself to their periodical returns, and can wisely extract the good from the evil, knows only how to live: this is true contentment, at least all that is to be had of it in this world; and for this every man must be indebted not to his fortune, but to himself.

  Laurence Sterne

  Gratitude, Pain, Light

  "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy: Gentleman & A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy".

  4 Copy quote

• The truth and regularity of a character is not, in justice, to be looked upon as broken, from any one single act or omission which may seem a contradiction to it:Mthe best of men appear sometimes to be strange compounds of contradictory qualities.

  Laurence Sterne

  Character, Men, Omission

  4 Copy quote

• We often think ourselves inconsistent creatures, when we are the furthest from it, and all the variety of shapes and contradictory appearances we put on, are in truth but so many different attempts to gratify the same governing appetite.

  Laurence Sterne

  Thinking, Different, Shapes

  Laurence Sterne (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Laurence Sterne (Illustrated)”, Delphi Classics

  4 Copy quote

• Alas! if the principles of contentment are not within us, the height of station and worldly grandeur will as soon add a cubit to a man's stature as to his happiness.

  Laurence Sterne

  Men, Principles, Add

  Laurence Sterne (1811). “The Beauties of Sterne: With Some Account of His Life”, p.240

  8 Copy quote

• Upon looking back from the end of the last chapter and surveying the texture of what has been wrote, it is necessary, that upon this page and the five following, a good quantity of heterogeneous matter be inserted, to keep up that just balance betwixt wisdom and folly, without which a book would not hold together a single year.

  Laurence Sterne

  Funny, Book, Years

  Laurence Sterne (1834). “The Works of Laurence Sterne, in One Volume”, p.258

  4 Copy quote

• The accusing spirit, which flew up to heaven's chancery with the oath, blushed as he gave it in; and the recording angel as he wrote it down dropped a tear upon the word and blotted it out forever.

  Laurence Sterne

  Angel, Flew Up, Forever

  'Tristram Shandy' (1759-67) bk. 6, ch. 8

  7 Copy quote

• You can't make theater happen without actors. The actor is the central ingredient in making theater happen. Audiences may come to theaters to see the work of stage managers, directors and producers, but the only people who can communicate theater magic to audiences, through ideas and emotions, are the actors. They are the only ones who can communicate this by themselves, and if necessary, they can get along without you. But you can't make theater without the actor.

  Laurence Sterne

  Ideas, People, Magic

  4 Copy quote

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