81 quotes by Samuel Butler

“To know God better is only to realize how impossible it is that we should ever know him at all. I know not which is more childish to deny him, or define him.” — Samuel Butler

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“God and the Devil are an effort after specialization and the division of labor.” — Samuel Butler

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“And so there is no God but has been in the loins of past gods.” — Samuel Butler

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“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.” — Samuel Butler

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“God as now generally conceived of is only the last witch.” — Samuel Butler

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“The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.” — Samuel Butler

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“From a worldly point of view, there is no mistake so great as that of being always right.” — Samuel Butler

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“The worst thing that can happen to a man is to lose his money, the next worst his health, the next worst his reputation.” — Samuel Butler

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“A sense of humor keen enough to show a man his own absurdities will keep him from the commission of all sins, or nearly all, save those worth committing.” — Samuel Butler

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“In law, nothing is certain but the expense.” — Samuel Butler

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“Human life is as evanescent as the morning dew or a flash of lightning.” — Samuel Butler

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“A man's friendships are, like his will, invalidated by marriage - but they are also no less invalidated by the marriage of his friends.” — Samuel Butler

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“Marriage is distinctly and repeatedly excluded from heaven. Is this because it is thought likely to mar the general felicity?” — Samuel Butler

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“A physician's physiology has much the same relation to his power of healing as a cleric's divinity has to his power of influencing conduct.” — Samuel Butler

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“Vaccination is the medical sacrament corresponding to baptism. Whether it is or is not more efficacious I do not know.” — Samuel Butler

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“The three most important things a man has are, briefly, his private parts, his money, and his religious opinions.” — Samuel Butler

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“It has been said that the love of money is the root of all evil. The want of money is so quite as truly.” — Samuel Butler

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“The want of money is the root of all evil.” — Samuel Butler

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“We shall never get people whose time is money to take much interest in atoms.” — Samuel Butler

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“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

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“Self-preservation is the first law of nature.” — Samuel Butler

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“They say the test of literary power is whether a man can write an inscription. I say, 'Can he name a kitten?'” — Samuel Butler

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“People in general are equally horrified at hearing the Christian religion doubted, and at seeing it practiced.” — Samuel Butler

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“For truth is precious and divine, too rich a pearl for carnal swine.” — Samuel Butler

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“There is no such source of error as the pursuit of truth.” — Samuel Butler

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