Let schoolmasters puzzle their brain, With grammar, and nonsense, and learning; Good liquor, I stoutly maintain, Gives genus a better discerning.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Goldsmith argues that good liquor aids understanding more than academic study.
- In plain terms
- Drinking good spirits helps you think better than studying grammar.
- What can you take from it?
- Relaxation can improve judgment over rigid study.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does leisure affect thinking?
- Is formal learning overrated?
Another view
This view romanticizes drinking and dismisses study too quickly.
More from Oliver Goldsmith
The very pink of perfection.
Permalink to quote #71 I'll be with you in the squeezing of a lemon.
Permalink to quote #73 I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines.
Permalink to quote #70
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