Samuel Butler (novelist) on Truth

"Honesty consists not in never stealing but in knowing where to stop in stealing, and how to make good use of what one does steal."

"The true laws of God are the laws of our own well-being."

"Any fool can tell the truth, but it requires a man of some sense to know how to lie well."

"Truth consists not in never lying but in knowing when to lie and when not to do so."

"The best liar is he who makes the smallest amount of lying go the longest way."

"Inspiration is never genuine if it is known as inspiration at the time. True inspiration always steals on a person; its importance not being fully recognised for some time."

"Heaven is the work of the best and kindest men and women. Hell is the work of prigs, pedants and professional truth-tellers. The world is an attempt to make the best of both."

"The pursuit of truth is chimerical. That is why it is so hard to say what truth is. There is no permanent absolute unchangeable truth; what we should pursue is the most convenient arrangement of our ideas."

"Time is the only true purgatory."

"We know so well what we are doing ourselves and why we do it, do we not? I fancy that there is some truth in the view which is being put forward nowadays, that it is our less conscious thoughts and our less conscious actions which mainly mould our lives and the lives of those who spring from us."