Zitate von Samuel Butler d.J.
Samuel Butler d.J.
Geburtstag: 4. Dezember 1835
Todesdatum: 18. Juni 1902
Samuel Butler war ein britischer Schriftsteller, Komponist, Philologe, Maler und Gelehrter.
Zitate Samuel Butler d.J.
„Ein Liebespaar ist wie Sonnenaufgang und -untergang; es gibt sie alle Tage, aber wir sehen sie selten.“
— Samuel Butler d.J.
Der Weg allen Fleisches, 1903, 11
„Es ist viel sicherer, zu wenig als zu viel zu wissen.“
— Samuel Butler d.J.
Der Weg allen Fleisches, 1903, 5
„Der beste Lügner ist der, der mit den wenigsten Lügen am längsten auskommt.“
— Samuel Butler d.J.
Der Weg allen Fleisches 1903, 39
„We can no longer separate things as we once could: everything tends towards unity; one thing, one action, in one place, at one time.“
— Samuel Butler
Context: We can no longer separate things as we once could: everything tends towards unity; one thing, one action, in one place, at one time. On the other hand, we can no longer unify things as we once could; we are driven to ultimate atoms, each one of which is an individuality. So that we have an infinite multitude of things doing an infinite multitude of actions in infinite time and space; and yet they are not many things, but one thing.
Unity and Multitude
„If I were to start as a God or a prophet I think I should take the line: "Thou shalt not believe in me. Thou shalt not have me for a God.“
— Samuel Butler
Context: It is the manner of gods and prophets to begin: "Thou shalt have none other God or Prophet but me." If I were to start as a God or a prophet I think I should take the line: "Thou shalt not believe in me. Thou shalt not have me for a God. Thou shalt worship any d_____d thing thou likest except me." This should be my first and great commandment, and my second should be like unto it.
Samuel Butler's Notebooks (1912) self censored "d_____d" in original publication
„There is an eternal antagonism of interest between the individual and the world at large.“
— Samuel Butler
Context: There is an eternal antagonism of interest between the individual and the world at large. The individual will not so much care how much he may suffer in this world provided he can live in men’s good thoughts long after he has left it. The world at large does not so much care how much suffering the individual may either endure or cause in this life, provided he will take himself clean away out of men’s thoughts, whether for good or ill, when he has left it.
The Individual and the World
„The written law is binding, but the unwritten law is much more so.“
— Samuel Butler
Context: The written law is binding, but the unwritten law is much more so. You may break the written law at a pinch and on the sly if you can, but the unwritten law — which often comprises the written — must not be broken. Not being written, it is not always easy to know what it is, but this has got to be done.
The Law
„An idea must not be condemned for being a little shy and incoherent; all new ideas are shy when introduced first among our old ones.“
— Samuel Butler
Context: An idea must not be condemned for being a little shy and incoherent; all new ideas are shy when introduced first among our old ones. We should have patience and see whether the incoherency is likely to wear off or to wear on, in which latter case the sooner we get rid of them the better.
Incoherency of New Ideas
