Belief like any other moving body follows the path of least resistance.
Samuel ButlerRead
When a man is in doubt about this or that in his writing, it will often guide him if he asks himself how it will tell a hundred years hence.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Consider the long-term impact of your writing to guide your decisions.
This quote emphasizes the importance of foresight in writing. Samuel Butler suggests that when faced with uncertainty, a writer should reflect on how their words will be perceived a century later, encouraging a perspective that values timelessness and impact over immediate gratification.
Themes
WritingImpactForesightLong-TermWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
A writer might use this quote to motivate students during a workshop on the importance of thoughtful writing.
More from Samuel Butler
All quotes →To 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.
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Young people have a marvelous faculty of either dying or adapting themselves to circumstances.
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People care more about being thought to have taste than about being thought either good, clever or amiable.
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