Logan Pearsall Smith

Logan Pearsall Smith (October 18, 1865-March 2, 1946) was an American essayist and critic.

• "The denunciation of the young is a necessary part of the hygiene of older people, and greatly assists in the circulation of their blood."
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "Age and Death"
• "Don't laugh at a youth for his affectations; he is only trying on one face after another to find his own."
• "I cannot forgive my friends for dying; I do not find these vanishing acts of theirs at all amusing."
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "Age and Death"
• "What music is more enchanting than the voices of young people, when you can't hear what they say?"
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "Age and Death"
• "The test of a vocation is the love of the drudgery it involves."
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "Art and Letters"
• "It is the wretchedness of being rich that you have to live with rich people."
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "In the World"
• "To suppose, as we all suppose, that we could be rich and not behave as the rich behave, is like supposing that we could drink all day and keep absolutely sober."
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "In the World"
• "How many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares if there seemed any danger of their coming true!"
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "Life and Human Nature"
• "There are few sorrows, however poignant, in which a good income is of no avail."
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "Life and Human Nature"
• "There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second."
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "Life and Human Nature"
• "People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading."
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "Myself"
• "All Reformers, however strict their social conscience, live in houses just as big as they can pay for."
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "Other People"
• "Most people sell their souls, and live with a good conscience on the proceeds."
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "Other People"
• "When they come downstairs from their Ivory Towers, Idealists are very apt to walk straight into the gutter."
  • Afterthoughts (1931) "Other People"