A mans friendships are, like his will, invalidated by marriage – but they are also no less invalidated by the marriage of his friends. – Samuel Butler
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. – Samuel Butler
Always eat grapes downward — that is eat the best grapes first; in this way there will be none better left on the bunch, and each grape will seem good down to the last. If you eat the other way, you will not have a good grape in the lot. – Samuel Butler
For truth is precious and divine, too rich a pearl for carnal swine. – Samuel Butler
Surely a man needs a closed place wherein he may strike root and, like the seed, become. But also he needs the great Milky Way above him and the vast sea spaces, though neither stars nor ocean serve his daily needs. РAntoine de Saint-Exup̩ry, The Wisdom of the Sands, translated from French by St