Quotes by Washington Irving

There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind.

A barking dog is often more useful than a sleeping lion.

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.

Little minds attain and are subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them.

Society is like a lawn, where every roughness is smoothed, every bramble eradicated, and where the eye is delighted by the smiling verdure of a velvet surface.

A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use.

I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories.

In civilized life, where the happiness, and indeed almost the existence, of man depends so much upon the opinion of his fellow men, he is constantly acting a studied part.

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them.

An inexhaustible good nature is one of the most precious gifts of heaven, spreading itself like oil over the troubled sea of thought, and keeping the mind smooth and equable in the roughest weather.