Oliver Goldsmith Quote

In all my wanderings through this world of care,In all my griefs -- and God has given my share --I still had hopes, my latest hours to crown,Amidst these humble bowers to lay me down;To husband out life's taper at the close,And keep the flame from wasting, by repose:I still had hopes, for pride attends us still,Amidst the swains to show my book-learn'd skill,Around my fire an evening group to draw,And tell of all I felt, and all I saw;And, as a hare, whom hounds and horns pursue,Pants to the place from whence at first she flew,I still had hopes, my long vexations past,Here to return -- and die at home at last.

Oliver Goldsmith

In all my wanderings through this world of care,In all my griefs -- and God has given my share --I still had hopes, my latest hours to crown,Amidst these humble bowers to lay me down;To husband out life's taper at the close,And keep the flame from wasting, by repose:I still had hopes, for pride attends us still,Amidst the swains to show my book-learn'd skill,Around my fire an evening group to draw,And tell of all I felt, and all I saw;And, as a hare, whom hounds and horns pursue,Pants to the place from whence at first she flew,I still had hopes, my long vexations past,Here to return -- and die at home at last.

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About Oliver Goldsmith

Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian era. His comedy plays for the English stage are considered second in importance only to those of playwright William Shakespeare, and his sentimental novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) was one of the most popular literary works among the British citizenry in the 18th century, having influenced later English authors Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Mary Shelley.
He also wrote plays such as The Good-Natur'd Man (1768) and She Stoops to Conquer (1771), as well as the poem The Deserted Village (1770). Goldsmith is additionally thought by some literary commentators, including Washington Irving, to have written the 1765 classic children's novel The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, one of the earliest and most influential works of children's literature.
Goldsmith settled in London in 1756, and the majority of his works were written after this period. Beginning in the 1760s, he maintained a close friendship with Samuel Johnson, another prolific English writer who played a significant role in promoting his poems. His personal mentorship and guidance resulted in Goldsmith expanding his literary writings to include political works. This long-term collaboration between the two authors has been described as "one of the most fruitful intellectual partnerships in 18th-century English letters." In 1764, he became one of the first members of Johnson's literary circle, known as The Club. Goldsmith also produced a very large number of poems and assorted writings during his career, and contributed to the flourishing of idyllic poetry during the Georgian era.
He died in 1774 in London, and was buried in Temple Church. His novel The Vicar of Wakefield has since become a classic of English literature, and remains widely read and taught in literary circles.