Heaven is the work of the best and kindest men and women. Hell is the work of prigs, pedants and professional truth-tellers. The world is an attempt to make the best of Heaven and Hell. – Samuel Butler
All philosophies, if you ride them home, are nonsense, but some are greater nonsense than others. – Samuel Butler
The thief. Once committed beyond a certain point he should not worry himself too much about not being a thief any more. Thieving is Gods message to him. Let him try and be a good thief. – Samuel Butler
The Ancient Mariner would not have taken so well if it had been called The Old Sailor. – Samuel Butler
After all, facts are facts, and although we may quote one to another with a chuckle the words of the Wise Statesman, “Lies – damned lies – and statistics,” still there are some easy figures the simplest must understand, and the astutest cannot wriggle out of. – Leonard Courtney, speech, August 1895, New York, "To My Fellow-Disciples at