In old times people used to try and square the circle; now they try and devise schemes for satisfying the irish nation. — Samuel Butler
It is seldom very hard to do one’s duty when one knows what it is, but it is often exceedingly difficult to find this out. — Samuel Butler
Justice is my being allowed to do whatever I like. Injustice is whatever prevents my doing so. — Samuel Butler
The lord hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, etc., and the less we think about it the better. — Samuel Butler
Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on. — Samuel Butler
We pay a person the compliment of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him. — Samuel Butler
Men should not try to overstrain their goodness more than any other faculty, bodily or mental. — Samuel Butler
Mr. Tennyson has said that more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of — Samuel Butler
My main wish is to get my books into other people’s rooms, and to keep other people’s books out of mine. — Samuel Butler
Our ideas are for the most part like bad sixpences, and we spend our lives trying to pass them on one another. — Samuel Butler
People care more about being thought to have taste than about being thought either good, clever or amiable. — Samuel Butler