Samuel Butler

Every one is a genius, more or less. No one is so physically sound that no part of him will be even a little unsound, and no one is so diseased but that some part of him will be healthy — so no man is so mentally and morally sound, but that he will be in part both mad and wicked; and no man is so mad and wicked but he will be sensible and honourable in part. In like manner there is no genius who is not also a fool, and no fool who is not also a genius.

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

An idea must not be condemned for being a little shy and incoherent; all new ideas are shy when introduced first among our old ones. We should have patience and see whether the incoherency is likely to wear off or to wear on, in which latter case the sooner we get rid of them the better.

Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.

Conscience is thoroughly well-bred and soon leaves off talking to those who do not wish to hear it.

When the righteous man truth away from his righteousness that he hath committed and doeth that which is neither quite lawful nor quite right, he will generally be found to have gained in amiability what he has lost in holiness.

Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear.

Adam was the luckiest man; he had no mother-in-law.

Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.

[on enlightenment] Body and mind dropped off.

Abandon yesterday, tomorrow and today. Cross over to the farthest shore beyond life and death.

Let go over a cliff, die completely, and then come back to life – after that you cannot be deceived.

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

The Zen expression Kill the Buddha!” means to kill any concept of the Buddha as something apart from oneself.

With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.

I believe that our Heavenly Father invented man because he was disappointed in the monkey.

I prayed for your peace even if you started this whole war in me.

Which is it, is man one of God’s blunders or is God one of man’s?

Thou shalt not commit adultry is a command which makes no distinction between the following persons. They are all required to obey it: children at birth. Children in the cradle. School children. Youths and maidens. Fresh adults. Older ones. Men and women of 40. Of 50. Of 60. Of 70. Of 80. Of 100. The command does not distribute its burden equally, and cannot. It is not hard upon the three sets of children.

Jesus tapped me on the shoulder and said, Bob, why are you resisting me? I said, I’m not resisting you! He said, You gonna follow me? I said, I’ve never thought about that before! He said, When you’re not following me, you’re resisting me.