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

Quote by Samuel Butler

Topics: Samuel Butler Quotes

The mistakes made by doctors are innumerable. They err habitually on the side of optimism...

The mistakes made by doctors are innumerable. They err habitually on the side of optimism...

Books are like imprisoned souls till someone takes them down from a shelf and frees...

Books are like imprisoned souls till someone takes them down from a shelf and frees...

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

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

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...

Our minds want clothes as much as our bodies.

Our minds want clothes as much as our bodies.

A drunkard would not give money to sober people. He said they would only eat...

A drunkard would not give money to sober people. He said they would only eat...

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...

An open mind is all very well in its way, but it ought not to...

An open mind is all very well in its way, but it ought not to...

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...

We all like to forgive, and love best not those who offend us least, nor...

We all like to forgive, and love best not those who offend us least, nor...

There are more fools than knaves in the world, else the knaves would not have...

There are more fools than knaves in the world, else the knaves would not have...

The advantage of doing one's praising to oneself is that one can lay it on...

The advantage of doing one's praising to oneself is that one can lay it on...

We think as we do, mainly because other people think so

We think as we do, mainly because other people think so

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...

It is better to have loved and lost than never to have lost at all.

It is better to have loved and lost than never to have lost at all.

A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.

A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.

The voice of the Lord is the voice of common sense, which is shared by...

The voice of the Lord is the voice of common sense, which is shared by...

A handful of common sense is worth a bushel of learning

A handful of common sense is worth a bushel of learning

I don't know why it is that the religious never ascribe common sense to God

I don't know why it is that the religious never ascribe common sense to God