Samuel Butler

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.

Youth is like spring, an over-praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes. Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.

Most people have never learned that one of the main aims in life is to enjoy it.

Arguments are like fire-arms which a man may keep at home but should not carry about with him.

The thief. Once committed beyond a certain point he should not worry himself too much about not being a thief any more. Thieving is God’s message to him. Let him try and be a good thief.

The man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.

Help a man against his will and you do the same as murder him.

To be good is noble, but to teach others how to be good is nobler and less trouble.

The universe seems bankrupt as soon as we begin to discuss the characters of individuals.

The great majority of men are bundles of beginnings.

The amount of people in this world who are here to do something great far outweighs the rest.

It isn’t making mistakes that’s critical; it’s correcting them and getting on with the principal task.

The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.

Evil is like water, it abounds, is cheap, soon fouls, but runs itself clear of taint.

The secret of ugliness consists not in irregularity, but in being uninteresting.

The little may contrast with the great, in painting, but cannot be said to be contrary to it. Oppositions of colors contrast; but there are also colors contrary to each other, that is, which produce an ill effect because they shock the eye when brought very near it.

I hate a fellow whom pride, or cowardice, or laziness drives into a corner, and who does nothing when he is there but sit and growl; let him come out as I do, and bark.

We are happier in many ways when we are old than when we were young. The young sow wild oats. The old grow sage.

Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it. The man who knows how will always have a job. The man who also knows why will always be his boss.

We lie in the lap of immense intelligence.

He who waits to do a great deal of good at once, will never do anything.