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

Quote by Samuel Butler

Topics: Samuel Butler Quotes

Christ and The Church: If he were to apply for a divorce on the grounds...

Christ and The Church: If he were to apply for a divorce on the grounds...

Opinions have vested interests just as men have.

Opinions have vested interests just as men have.

We shall never get people whose time is money to take much interest in atoms.

We shall never get people whose time is money to take much interest in atoms.

Oaths are but words, and words but wind.

Oaths are but words, and words but wind.

Women can stand a beating except when it is with their own weapons.

Women can stand a beating except when it is with their own weapons.

There is no true gracefulness which is not epitomized goodness.

There is no true gracefulness which is not epitomized goodness.

He that complies against his will is of his own opinion still.

He that complies against his will is of his own opinion still.

Half the vices which the world condemns most loudly have seeds of good in them...

Half the vices which the world condemns most loudly have seeds of good in them...

If people would dare to speak to one another unreservedly, there would be a good...

If people would dare to speak to one another unreservedly, there would be a good...

The history of the world is the record of the weakness, frailty and death of...

The history of the world is the record of the weakness, frailty and death of...

The man who takes time to explain his mistakes has little time left for anything...

The man who takes time to explain his mistakes has little time left for anything...

Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both

Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both

Self-preservation is the first law of nature.

Self-preservation is the first law of nature.

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...

For most men, and most circumstances, pleasure --tangible material prosperity in this world --is the...

For most men, and most circumstances, pleasure --tangible material prosperity in this world --is the...

The extremes of glory and of shame, Like east and west, become the same No...

The extremes of glory and of shame, Like east and west, become the same No...

No mistake is more common and more fatuous than appealing to logic in cases which...

No mistake is more common and more fatuous than appealing to logic in cases which...

The youth of an art is, like the youth of anything else, its most interesting...

The youth of an art is, like the youth of anything else, its most interesting...

To die is but to leave off dying and do the thing once for all.

To die is but to leave off dying and do the thing once for all.

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...