Quotes from Samuel Butler

Some men love truth so much that they seem to be in continual fear lest she should catch a cold on overexposure.

Justice while she winks at crimes, Stumbles on innocence sometimes.

For truth is precious and divine, too rich a pearl for carnal swine.

There is no such source of error as the pursuit of truth.

There is no permanent absolute unchangeable truth; what we should pursue is the most convenient arrangement of our ideas.

We all love best not those who offend us least, but those who make it most easy for us to forgive them.

The world is naturally averse to all truth it sees or hears but swallows nonsense and a lie with greediness and gluttony.

There are more fools than knaves in the world, else the knaves would not have enough to live upon.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but a little want of knowledge is also a dangerous thing.

Young people have a marvelous faculty of either dying or adapting themselves to circumstances.

The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance.

All truth is not to be told at all times.

Money is the last enemy that shall never be subdued. While there is flesh there is money or the want of money, but money is always on the brain so long as there is a brain in reasonable order.

We all love best not those who offend us least, nor those who have done most for us, but those who make it most easy for us to forgive them.

Our minds want clothes as much as our bodies.

I keep my books at the British Museum and at Mudies.

Books should be tried by a judge and jury as though they were crimes.

I can generally bear the separation, but I don't like the leave-taking.

People in general are equally horrified at hearing the Christian religion doubted, and at seeing it practised.

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

The test of a good critic is whether he knows when and how to believe on insufficient evidence.

The tendency of modern science is to reduce proof to absurdity by continually reducing absurdity to proof.

There is one thing certain, namely, that we can have nothing certain; therefore it is not certain that we can have nothing certain.

All animals except man know that the principle business of life is to enjoy it.