Belief like any other moving body follows the path of least resistance.
Samuel ButlerRead
When you have told anyone you have left him a legacy, the only decent thing to do is die at once.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that declaring a legacy before your death is insincere unless you follow through with your demise immediately.
Samuel Butler's quote reflects the irony inherent in the concept of leaving a legacy. It implies that proclaiming a legacy while still alive undermines the value of what one leaves behind, as true worth is often found in humility and the absence of self-promotion. In Butler's view, the act of announcing a legacy can be a way of seeking validation and attention rather than genuinely contributing to the world's betterment, hence the notion that one might as well die if they intend to make such a statement.
Themes
LegacyDeathIronyHumilitySelf-Promotion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about the importance of humility in leadership.
More from Samuel Butler
All quotes βTo know God better is only to realize how impossible it is that we should ever know him at all. I know not which is more childish to deny him, or define him.
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Academic and aristocratic people live in such an uncommon atmosphere that common sense can rarely reach them.
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An apology for the devil: it must be remembered that we have heard one side of the case. God has written all the books.
Samuel ButlerRead
Young people have a marvelous faculty of either dying or adapting themselves to circumstances.
Samuel ButlerRead
People care more about being thought to have taste than about being thought either good, clever or amiable.
Samuel ButlerRead
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