Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises.

Quote by Samuel Butler

Topics: Samuel Butler Quotes

In the midst of vice we are in virtue, and vice versa.

In the midst of vice we are in virtue, and vice versa.

The only living works are those which have drained much of the author's own life...

The only living works are those which have drained much of the author's own life...

All of the animals except for man know that the principle business of life is...

All of the animals except for man know that the principle business of life is...

Our ideas are for the most part like bad sixpences, and we spend our lives...

Our ideas are for the most part like bad sixpences, and we spend our lives...

Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.

Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.

Letters are like wine; if they are sound they ripen with keeping. A man should...

Letters are like wine; if they are sound they ripen with keeping. A man should...

And so there is no God but has been in the loins of past gods.

And so there is no God but has been in the loins of past gods.

All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism...

All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism...

We are not won by arguments that we can analyse but by tone and temper,...

We are not won by arguments that we can analyse but by tone and temper,...

Silence and tact may or may not be the same thing.

Silence and tact may or may not be the same thing.

Belief like any other moving body follows the path of least resistance.

Belief like any other moving body follows the path of least resistance.

Christ: I dislike him very much. Still, I can stand him. What I cannot stand...

Christ: I dislike him very much. Still, I can stand him. What I cannot stand...

Money is the last enemy that shall never be subdued. While there is flesh there...

Money is the last enemy that shall never be subdued. While there is flesh there...

If you follow reason far enough it always leads to conclusions that are contrary to...

If you follow reason far enough it always leads to conclusions that are contrary to...

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

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

Oaths are but words, and words are but wind.

Oaths are but words, and words are but wind.

Life is a quarry, out of which we are to mold and chisel and complete...

Life is a quarry, out of which we are to mold and chisel and complete...

A man's friendships are, like his will, invalidated by marriage - but they are also...

A man's friendships are, like his will, invalidated by marriage - but they are also...

When a man is in doubt about this or that in his writing, it will...

When a man is in doubt about this or that in his writing, it will...

Virtue knows that it is impossible to get on without compromise, and tunes herself, as...

Virtue knows that it is impossible to get on without compromise, and tunes herself, as...