Samuel Butler

You can do very little with faith, but you can do nothing without it.

Logic is like the sword

An apology for the devil: it must be remembered that we have heard one side of the case. God has written all the books.

Compound for sins they are inclined to by damning those they have no mind to.

People are lucky and unlucky not according to what they get absolutely, but according to the ratio between what they get and what they have been led to expect.

Christ and The Church: If he were to apply for a divorce on the grounds of cruelty, adultery and desertion, he would probably get one.

We must set up a strong present tense against all rumors of wrath, past and to come.

There are no secrets better kept than the secrets that everybody guesses.

Every quotation contributes something to the stability or enlargement of the language.

Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.

What contemptible scoundrel has stolen the cork to my lunch?

Whom do I call educated? First, those who manage well the circumstances they encounter day by day. Next, those who are decent and honorable in their intercourse with all men, bearing easily and good naturedly what is offensive in others and being as agreeable and reasonable to their associates as is humanly possible to be… those who hold their pleasures always under control and are not ultimately overcome by their misfortunes… those who are not spoiled by their successes, who do not desert their true selves but hold their ground steadfastly as wise and sober — minded men.

Man is the only creature who has a nasty mind.

It is the greatest of all advantages to enjoy no advantage at all.

How lovely the little river is, with its dark changing wavelets! It seems to me like a living companion while I wander along the bank, and listen to its low, placid voice…

Truth is the property of no individual but is the treasure of all men.

Gold will be slave or master.

When it comes to the story of my heart, I am the villain, locking it away; denying its right be free. The chains are tight, restricting its growth; long enough to see through the window of opportunity, but the only escape it has, is via the pen. Why do I deny myself the opportunities? I know it comes from a place of protection, but also of fear. I think my heart has grown a resentment because of this betrayal, and has decided, enough is enough.

Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.

When you do the wrong thing, knowing it is wrong, you do so because you haven’t developed the habit of effectively controlling or neutralizing strong inner urges that tempt you, or because you have established the wrong habit and don’t know how to eliminate them effectively.

From his cradle to his grave a man never does a single thing which has any FIRST AND FOREMOST object but one – to secure peace of mind, spiritual comfort, for HIMSELF.