Samuel Butler

England
1613 // 25 Sep 1680
Poet / Author

Quotes

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Oaths are but words, and words are but wind
Neither irony or sarcasm is argument
Most people have never learned that one of the main aims in life is to enjoy it
Man is the only animal that laughs and has a state legislature
Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them
Lying has a kind of respect and reverence with it. We pay a person the compliment of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him
Logic is like the sword - those who appeal to it, shall perish by it
Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises
Life is one long process of getting tired
Life is not an exact science, it is an art
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays