Quote#Speech
If we are asked what is the most essential characteristic that…
Quote bySamuel Butler · 1835–1902
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Part II: Elementary Morality, Gentleman.
English (original)
If we are asked what is the most essential characteristic that underlies this word, the word itself will guide us to gentleness, to absence of such things as brow-beating, overbearing manners and fuss, and generally to consideration for other people.
— Samuel Butler
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Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.
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We can see nothing face to face; our utmost seeing is but a fumbling of blind finger-ends in an overcrowded pocket.
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The man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.