Tobias George Smollett
(19 Mar 1721 - 17 Sep 1771)
Scottish author and physician noted for his picaresque novels and satire. In his writings, he drew on his experiences from his early career as a surgeon's mate in the Royal Navy aboard the H.M.S. Chichester..
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Science Quotes by Tobias George Smollett (2 quotes)
A mere index hunter, who held the eel of science by the tail.
— Tobias George Smollett
In Peregrine Pickle xlii (1779), II, 57. Reference from The Oxford English Dictionary. Index-hunter is a term used mockingly, meaning one who acquires superficial knowledge merely by consulting indexes. The “[holding] the eel of science by the tail” allusion was used in 1728 by Alexander Pope (q.v.).
Facts are stubborn things
— Tobias George Smollett
Translation of Alain René Le Sage's The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane (1715-35, trans.1749), Book 10, Chap. 1, Also used by Jared Eliot in Essay on Field Husbandry (1747), 35.