Quote#Humour & Wit
By a merciful dispensation of Providence university training is…
Quote bySamuel Butler · 1835–1902
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Ramblings in Cheapside (1890).
English (original)
By a merciful dispensation of Providence university training is almost as costly as it is unprofitable. The majority will thus be always unable to afford it, and will base their opinions on mother wit and current opinion rather than on demonstration.
— Samuel Butler
More from Samuel Butler
We can see nothing face to face; our utmost seeing is but a fumbling of blind finger-ends in an overcrowded pocket.
A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg.
Stowed away in a Montreal lumber room The Discobolus standeth and turneth his face to the wall; Dusty, cobweb-covered, maimed and set at naught, Beauty crieth in an attic and no man regardeth: O God! O Montreal!
Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.
The Discobolus is put here because he is vulgar — He has neither vest nor pants with which to cover his limbs.
The man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.