Quote#Money & Wealth
Whether the universe is really a paying concern, or whether it is an…
Quote bySamuel Butler · 1835–1902
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Ramblings in Cheapside (1890).
English (original)
Whether the universe is really a paying concern, or whether it is an inflated bubble that must burst sooner or later, this is another matter. If people were to demand cash payment in irrefragable certainty for everything that they have taken hitherto as paper money on the credit of the bank of public opinion, is there money enough behind it all to stand so great a drain even on so great a reserve?
— Samuel Butler
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The Discobolus is put here because he is vulgar — He has neither vest nor pants with which to cover his limbs.
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The man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.