Samuel Butler

Ranking: 78th
Biography of Samuel Butler
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Quote	Categories	Rating	Rate
"To live is like love, all reason is against it, and all healthy instinct for it."	Life, Love
"God is Love -- I dare say. But what a mischievous devil Love is!"	Evil, Good, Love
"God cannot alter the past, but historians can."	History
"What makes all doctrines plain and clear?- About two hundred pounds a year. And that which was prov'd true before Prove false again? Two hundred more."	Honesty, Lies, Time
"Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises."	Art, Life
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg."	Monarchy
"He that is down can fall no lower."	Miscellaneous
"Truth is generally kindness, but where the two diverge and collide, kindness should override truth."	Honesty, Truth
"The course of true anything does not run smooth."	Honesty, Truth
"There are two great rules in life, the one general and the other particular. The first is that every one can in the end get what he wants if he only tries. This is the general rule. The particular rule is that every individual is more or less of an exception to the general rule."	Art, Desires, Excellence
"Friendship is like money, easier made than kept."	Friends, Money
"Every man's work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself."	Men, Music, Writing
"For truth is precious and divine; Too rich a pearl for carnal swine."	Honesty, Truth
"Life is like music, it must be composed by ear, feeling and instinct, not by rule. Nevertheless one had better know the rules, for they sometimes guide in doubtful cases, though not often."	Change, Doubt, Knowledge
"Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them."	Friends, Intentions, Men
"Life is not an exact science, it is an art."	Art, Life
"I do not mind lying but I hate inaccuracy."	Lies
"Any fool can tell the truth, but it requires a person of some sense to know how to lie well."	Honesty, Knowledge, Lies
"'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have lost at all."	Love
"You can do very little with faith, but you can do nothing without it."	Faith
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Browse Samuel Butler quotes by category:

Age	Anger	Argument
Art	Change	Conflict
Desires	Doubt	Evil
Excellence	Faith	Friends
Good	History	Honesty
Intentions	Knowledge	Learning
Lies	Life	Love
Men	Miscellaneous	Monarchy
Money	Music	Quitting
Sin	Time	Truth
Wants	Wisdom	Writing