“As in geometry, the oblique must be known, as well as the right; and in arithmetic, the odd as well as the even; so in actions of life, who seeth not the filthiness of evil, wanteth a great foil to perceive the beauty of virtue.”
“Who shoots at the mid-day sun, though he be sure he shall never hit the mark, yet as sure he is he shall shoot higher than who aims but at a bush.”
“A fair woman shall not only command without authority but persuade without speaking.”
“With a tale forsooth he cometh unto you, with a tale which holdeth children from play, and old men from the chimney corner.”
“Certainly, I must confess my own barbarousness, I never heard the old song of Percy and Douglas that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet.”
“The poet...nothing affirmeth, and therefore never lieth.”
Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.
Not who you're looking for? Others named Philip Sidney: English poet, courtier, diplomat (1554-1586)
