Samuel Butler (novelist) quotes - page 7

A virtue to be serviceable must, like gold, be alloyed with some commoner, but more durable alloy. (Samuel Butler (novelist))
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. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
It is seldom very hard to do one's duty when one knows what it is, but it is often exceedingly difficult to find this out. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Young people have a marvelous faculty of either dying or adapting themselves to circumstances. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
And so there is no God but has been in the loins of past gods. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Men should not try to overstrain their goodness more than any other faculty, bodily or mental. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Be virtuous and you will be vicious. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Human life is as evanescent as the morning dew or a flash of lightning. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Christ was only crucified once and for a few hours. Think of the hundreds of thousands whom Christ has been crucifying in a quiet way ever since. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
To do great work a man must be very idle As well as very industrious. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
God and the Devil are an effort after specialization and the division of labor. (Samuel Butler (novelist))
My main wish is to get my books into other people's rooms, and to keep other people's books out of mine. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Work with some men is as besetting a sin as idleness with others. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
People in general are equally horrified at hearing the Christian religion doubted, and at seeing it practiced. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Silence is not always tact, but it is tact that is golden, not silence. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
If God wants us to do a thing, he should make his wishes sufficiently clear. Sensible people will wait till he has done this before paying much attention to him. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Parents are the last people on earth who ought to have children. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Neither have they hearts to stay, Nor wit enough to run away. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
It is our less conscious thoughts and our less conscious actions which mainly mould our lives and the lives of those who spring from us. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Virtue knows that it is impossible to get on without compromise, and tunes herself, as it were, a trifle sharp to allow for an inevitable fall in playing. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
It is a wise tune that knows its own father, and I like my music to be the legitimate offspring of respectable parents. (Samuel Butler (novelist))
The sinews of art and literature, like those of war, are money. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
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. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
An empty house is like a stray dog or a body from which life has departed. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself. View quote
Samuel Butler (novelist)