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Home  »  Familiar Short Sayings of Great Men  »  Sir Walter Scott

S.A. Bent, comp. Familiar Short Sayings of Great Men. 1887.

Sir Walter Scott

  • [Born in Edinburgh, Aug. 15, 1771; educated at the University; wrote “The Lay of the Last Minstrel,” 1805; “Marmion,” 1806; “Lady of the Lake,” 1810; “Waverley,” 1814, and other poems and romances to 1831; received the rank of baronet, 1820; died Sept. 21, 1832.]
  • Without courage there cannot be truth, and without truth there can be no other virtue.

    Campbell [the poet] is afraid of the shadow that his own fame casts before him.

    As for bidding me not work, Molly might as well put the kettle on the fire, and say, “Now, don’t boil!”

    Depend upon it, of all vices, drinking is the most incompatible with greatness.

    We wear out our teeth in the hard drudgery of the outset, and at length, when we do get bread to eat, we complain that the crust is hard; so that in neither case are we satisfied.

    When our Saviour himself was to be led into temptation, the first thing the Devil thought of was to get him into the wilderness.

  • To Ballantyne, the printer and journalist, who thought of leaving Edinburgh to reside in the country.