Familiar Quotations / A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to / Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature

by Unknown

Don't view me with a critic's eye,

But pass my imperfections by.

Large streams from little fountains flow,

Tall oaks from little acorns grow.[459:2]

Lines written for a School Declamation.

Footnotes

[459:2] The lofty oak from a small acorn grows.—Lewis Duncombe (1711-1730): De Minimis Maxima (translation).

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SYDNEY SMITH.  1769-1845.

It requires a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding.[459:3]