Virtue knows that it is impossible to get on without compromise, and tunes herself, as it were, a trifle sharp to allow for an inevitable fall in playing.

Quote by Samuel Butler

Topics: Samuel Butler Quotes

A sense of humor keen enough to show a man his own absurdities will keep...

A sense of humor keen enough to show a man his own absurdities will keep...

Cleanliness is almost as bad as godliness

Cleanliness is almost as bad as godliness

To me it seems that youth is like spring, an over-praised season delightful if it...

To me it seems that youth is like spring, an over-praised season delightful if it...

The want of money is the root of all evil.

The want of money is the root of all evil.

For every why he had a wherefore

For every why he had a wherefore

Let every man be true and every god a liar.

Let every man be true and every god a liar.

A skilful leech is better far, than half a hundred men of war.

A skilful leech is better far, than half a hundred men of war.

Some men love truth so much that they seem to be in continual fear lest...

Some men love truth so much that they seem to be in continual fear lest...

Genius is no respecter of time, trouble, money or persons, the four things around which...

Genius is no respecter of time, trouble, money or persons, the four things around which...

The worst thing that can happen to a man is to lose his money, the...

The worst thing that can happen to a man is to lose his money, the...

It has beeen said that the love of money is the root of all evil....

It has beeen said that the love of money is the root of all evil....

There is nothing which at once affects a man so much and so little as...

There is nothing which at once affects a man so much and so little as...

If I die prematurely I shall be saved from being bored to death at my...

If I die prematurely I shall be saved from being bored to death at my...

All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.

All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.

Every man's work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything...

Every man's work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything...

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...

Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one...

Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one...

Genius is a nuisance, and it is the duty of schools and colleges to abate...

Genius is a nuisance, and it is the duty of schools and colleges to abate...

Put your talent into your work, but your genius into your life

Put your talent into your work, but your genius into your life

Genius is its own end, and draws its means and the style of its architecture...

Genius is its own end, and draws its means and the style of its architecture...