Samuel Butler

We grant, although he had much wit,
H' was very shy of using it,
As being loth read more

We grant, although he had much wit,
H' was very shy of using it,
As being loth to wear it out,
And therefore bore it not about;
Unless on holy days or so,
As men their best apparel do.

In mathematics he was greater
Than Tycho Brahe, or Erra Pater;
For he, by geometric scale,
read more

In mathematics he was greater
Than Tycho Brahe, or Erra Pater;
For he, by geometric scale,
Could take the size of pots of ale.

The man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.

The man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.

We payt a person the complement of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him.

We payt a person the complement of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him.

He who does not make his words rather serve to conceal than
discover the sense of his heart deserves read more

He who does not make his words rather serve to conceal than
discover the sense of his heart deserves to have it pulled out
like a traitor's and shown publicly to the rabble.