Belief like any other moving body follows the path of least resistance.
Samuel ButlerRead
All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Progress is driven by a fundamental human desire to achieve more than what one currently has.
This quote by Samuel Butler suggests that the essence of progress lies in the innate human motivation to strive for greater achievements and improvements in life, often pushing individuals to go beyond their current financial means or limitations. It reflects the universal longing for growth, advancement, and the pursuit of a better existence, which can be seen across all forms of life.
Themes
ProgressDesireGrowthLifeAchievement
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a motivational speech to inspire people to pursue their goals.
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.
Samuel ButlerRead
Academic and aristocratic people live in such an uncommon atmosphere that common sense can rarely reach them.
Samuel ButlerRead
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
Similar quotes
The years after 50 can be a time of great productivity, meaningful work, pleasure, creativity, and innovation. It's a huge opportunity.
Jane PauleyRead
To know how to hide one's ability is great skill.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
You are free when you gain back yourself,β Madame Wu said. βYou can be as free within these walls as you could be in the whole world. And how could you be free if, however far you wander, you still carry inside yourself the constant thought of him? See where you belong in the stream of life. Let it flow through you, cool and strong. Do not dam it with your two hands, lest he break the dam and so escape you. Let him go free, and you will be free.
Pearl S. BuckRead
The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of childhood into maturity.
Thomas HuxleyRead
Itβs time to stop being vague. If you wish to be an extraordinary person, if you wish to be wise, then you should explicitly identify the kind of person you aspire to become.
EpictetusRead
He only employs his passion who can make no use of his reason.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead