Skip to content
quotesby

He cou'd foretel whats'ever was By consequence to come to pass; As death of great men, alterations, Diseases, battles, inundations. All this, without th' eclipse o' th' sun, Or dreadful comet, he hath done, By inward light; away as good, And easy to be understood; But with more lucky hit than those That use to make the stars depose, Like Knights o' th' post, and falsely charge Upon themselves what others forge: As if they were consenting to All mischiefs in the world men do: Or, like the Devil, did tempt and sway 'em To rogueries, and then betray 'em.

Samuel Butler#15

BeliefFutureProphecySuperstition

About this quote

What does it mean?
The text mocks false prophets who claim supernatural insight to predict events.
In plain terms
Some people fake knowing the future to look powerful.
What can you take from it?
Be wary of those claiming secret knowledge of the future.

Where it applies

  • religious cults
  • financial advisors
  • political pundits

Putting it to work

  • verify claims independently
  • distrust vague predictions

Questions to consider

  • How do you tell truth from fake insight?
  • Why do people believe in prophecies?

Another view

Intuition can sometimes align with facts by chance.

More from Samuel Butler

  1. This Light inspires, and plays upon The nose of Saint like Bag-pipe drone, And speaks through hollow empty Soul, As through a Trunk, or whisp'ring hole, Such l…

    Permalink to quote #14
  2. To swallow gudgeons ere they're catched, And count their chickens ere they're hatched.

    Permalink to quote #16
  3. For Rhime the Rudder is of Verses, With which like Ships they steer their courses.

    Permalink to quote #13

Related quotes

  1. I, too, shall wake again.

    Romain RollandRomain Rolland quote #10
  2. It's so hard to believe in anything anymore. I mean, it's like, religion, you really can't take it seriously, because it seems so mythological, it seems so arb…

    Steve MartinSteve Martin quote #11
  3. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

    Eleanor RooseveltEleanor Roosevelt quote #12